Croissance d'un Dresseur
by Arawn-Tolbert
Summary: Calem is a burgeoning artist living in the sleepy town of Vaniville. Serena is a young trainer who moved in a few years back with dreams of conquering the Pokemon League. When an opportunity arises for them to adventure with their friends, their lives change forever. Friendships are tested, Pokemon are battled, and lives are at risk. Rated for language and violence.
1. Humble Beginnings

**A/N: So, this is the first Pokemon fanfic that I have ever written. It is my take on X and Y, with a few ideas/themes mixed in from the manga. I hope you enjoy, and please read and review. Also, shout out to the creator of my cover image, which either came from Pinterest or a Tumblr blog called pkmn-masters. Regardless, it is truly an awesome image. If you know the true creator, please tell me so I can give them proper credit.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

 **Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings**

Vaniville Town in the morning was incredibly quiet. Most of the residents didn't wake up until eight or later in the morning, businesses didn't open their doors until nine, and even the Pokemon remained asleep. Every morning in Vaniville Town was as quiet as a church.

Except for this morning. This morning's quietness was broken by a teenage boy whistling. Calem Albright sat in a bench, looking down the main street of Vaniville, a pad of paper resting on his hunched up legs. A male Meowstic sat on the bench next to him, swinging his legs cheerfully and swaying to the tune his trainer whistled.

Calem cared little for the quietness of Vaniville Town. He had lived there for twelve of his sixteen years of life, and never liked the quiet mornings. Born an early riser, he wanted something to do in the morning, someone to accompany him on crazy adventures, to distract him. His parents, growing weary of his complaining, had enrolled him into an art class nine years ago, telling him that if mornings drove him so crazy, why not draw or paint to keep himself busy?

Their plan worked better than they could have hoped for. Calem had taken to drawing with a passion. At first he had just drawn sights he could see out of his window, but once he got a Pokemon to accompany him, he began to draw the sleepy little Town.

Calem made a few extra marks, held the paper up and examined it critically. His Meowstic looked at the grey-eyed, dark haired trainer. As usual, Calem had his red outdoors cap, as well as his blue jacket and jeans. Once he was satisfied, Calem quickly signed his name in the corner then turned to his Pokemon.

"What do you think, Grix?" Calem asked. Grix, for his part, seriously examined the drawing.

" _Meowstic, me,"_ Grix said, waving his front paws around. Calem looked at the drawing closer and smiled.

"Got me there, Grix," he said. "But still, think it's good?" Grix nodded enthusiastically. Calem closed the small sketchbook and rubbed the Constraint Pokemon's head. "Thanks, pal. Best critic a guy could want." Calem hopped off the bench, followed by Grix, and began walking towards his house. "So, we still have a couple of hours to kill before we meet with the gang," Calem said, "so I was thinking, we go scare Serena. Deal?"

Grix mrowed and scowled at his trainer. Calem laughed. "Of course she's still asleep; that's the whole point, Grix!" Grix continued to scowl at his trainer. Calem raised his hands in defeat. "All right, all right. You win. We'll scare her in an hour, deal?" Grix huffed but nodded. "Excellent! Now, home for breakfast!"

An Hour Later….

Serena slept peacefully, blankets pulled up around her neck. Her honey blonde hair was fanned out on her pillow with some strands falling her face as she turned over onto her side. A soft snore came out of her mouth and she mumbled something about Vivillons and Butterfrees.

Calem carefully hoisted himself up enough to look into the room through the window while Grix kept look out below. Moving very carefully, and as silently as possible, Calem slowly opened the window and crawled into the room, making sure that he didn't crash to the floor and wake his target. Reaching into his bag Calem pulled out a long, black object…

… And proceeded to play a loud, sharp note from his flute right by Serena.

Serena bolted awake, practically flying out her bed, looking around wildly, her hand grasping the Poke Ball that she kept by her bed. Her eyes came upon Calem, who was laughing like a mad person, and her look of shock turned into one of rage. "CALEM!" she roared.

"Sorry, Seri," Calem said, still chuckling. "But, we all agreed to meet at Aquacorde at ten, remember? And last time you overslept, so I figure I'd make sure you were awake in time."

"It's eight-thirty!" Serena exclaimed. "Who gets up at this ungodly hour?! And get out of here! I'm not dressed and my hair's a mess!"

"Me," Calem said, smiling. " You also look cute when you just wake up, all sleepy-eyed. It's adorable. And besides, Serena, it was just a harmless prank! "

Serena's eyes narrowed into pinpricks of murderous rage. "I'll show you harmless. Vivian, teach him a lesson!" The brightly colored Pokemon, Vivillon, emerged from her Poke Ball and glared at Calem. Calem gulped and began to walk back towards the window.

"This is what I get for trying to make sure you arrived on time?" Calem asked, faking hurt.

"Thank you," Serena said. "But, get out. Vivian, Psybeam!" The blast of pink energy hit directly between Calem's feet and he took the message, diving out of the window.

"Grix!" He yelled. "Catch me! Confusion!" Grix looked up at his falling Trainer and tuttered. His eyes glowed blue and his trainer's fall slowed before he landed softly on the ground. "Thanks, Grix. So, see you at ten, Serena?" Calem called up.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," Serena grumbled. She wasn't going back to sleep now. Stupid Calem.

Calem laughed and began walking towards the small park in the middle of the town. He figured he would kill the time drawing before leaving to meet his friends in Aquacorde.

An hour passed, and Calem had three finished sketches in his notebook. Two were of the park and one was of Grix playing with a gear he found on the ground. Before he could begin a fourth sketch, his Holo Caster rang. Calem picked up the device and answered the call, revealing the image of a slight, nervous looking boy. "Trevor," Calem greeted. "What's with the call?"

"Hi, Calem," Trevor said, smiling. "And this is about our meeting."

Calem felt his heart drop into his stomach. If the meeting was canceled, Serena would kill him. She would then bring him back to life, and kill him a second time. "Is it canceled?"

Trevor frowned. "What? No, of course not. It's just, I ran into Professor Sycamore when I was leaving my house and well, he gave me five Pokemon."

"He just gave you Pokemon?" Calem asked. "And that's pretty cool. But why?"

"They're, apparently, for the five of us," Trevor said. "Along with Pokemon, he also told me to give each of us one of these," Trevor held up a card like device, "a Pokedex. He said something about a journey, the mystique of an adventure, and something else but he was talking too fast to be heard. Point is, we get these, and he wants us all to meet him in Lumiose as soon as possible."

"This," Calem said slowly, "is… So COOL! Dude, we get a Pokedex! We can be like Seth Thompson, Amy Birch, and Kyle Jones! Exploring the region, becoming famous! He wants us to explore! Do you have an idea of the art I could make, the sights I could see? This is awesome!"

Trevor smiled faintly. "I haven't told Shauna or Serena yet, so I suggest you hurry over here now, before they take the good ones." Trevor ended the call and Calem jumped up, beyond excited. He reached into his bag and pulled out his roller skates, stuffing his notebook and pencil into the bag.

"You ready to meet our new pal, Grix?" Calem asked. Grix nodded and hopped up onto his shoulders. Calem snapped his roller skates onto his shoes and took off. _This is so amazing_ , he thought. _A journey. Me, Trevor, Shauna, Tierno, and Serena. The five of us. My chance to show her that I'm worth the time. Finally!_

Calem was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice the trio in front of him, or hear Grix's warning cry. Going at full speed, Calem crashed into the newcomer, hitting the ground hard. Grix, for his part, simply leaped off his trainer and landed easily on the ground.

Calem scrambled to his feet quickly, and turned towards the stranger, whose friends helped him up. "Oh my god, I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!" Calem said quickly. " I wasn't paying attention and I was going so fast and it's all my fault!"

"It's no prob," the stranger said, brushing dirt off his shoulder. "It was an accident anyways." Calem looked closer at the trio, consisting of two boys and a girl, all a few years older than him. The boy he had crashed into looked extremely familiar. Something about his dark red hair and laidback brown eyes… and the clothes he wore were extremely familiar, too. As was his face. Calem had seen him from somewhere before….But where? Then, it struck him.

"Sweet Arceus!" he shouted. "Y-you-you're Seth Thompson! The guy who beat the Sinnoh Elite Four!"

"Looks like you have a fan," the girl joked. Seth rolled his eyes.

"And you're Amy Birch, the Coordinator!" Calem continued, pointing to the girl. "And you're Kyle Jones, the other Trainer and the assistant of Professor Rowan! Holy crap, you guys are famous!" Grix looked at his trainer and meowed in concern. "What do you mean, Grix? Of course they are!"

Kyle, a young man with light brown hair and dark eyes, smiled at the younger boy. "Well, I'm glad someone finally recognizes me! Usually Seth is the one who gets all the praise!"

"Unfortunately," Seth joked. He looked closer at the young trainer who had bumped into him. Calem and Grix were completely engrossed in a conversation with each other, or as close as a conversation could be between a Pokemon and human.

"He definitely seems to understand his Meowstic well," Amy muttered to Seth.

"He reminds me of someone I once met," Kyle joked. Seth smiled.

"I wonder," he said thoughtfully. "Hey, kid," he called. Calem and Grix both fell silent, and, in unison, turned to look at Seth.

"Yeah?" Calem asked nervously.

"What's your name?"

"Calem Albright," he answered.

Seth smiled. "Nice to meet you, Calem," he said, extending a hand. Calem shook it hesitantly. "Now, I know I said it was fine that you bumped into me, but there is one thing I would like you to do."

"What is it?" Calem asked, excited at the prospect of helping his hero.

"Battle me," Seth said. "Right here, right now."

 **A/N: Well, that's that. I hope everyone liked it, or at least tolerated it. So, couple of things. One, Grix is part of Meowstics name in French, Mistigrix. That's how Calem nicknames his Pokemon, by taking a part of the French name. Serena nicknames hers with names that start with a part of the Pokemon's name. Also, Seth, Amy, and Kyle were characters I've made up, but never written about. Essentially, Seth is the son of Lance, and is my version of Red, trying to make a name for himself outside of his dad. He beat the Sinnoh Elite Four in a series of matches but lost to Cynthia and now works for Rowan with Kyle as an assistant. So, that's about all for now. Please drop a review! And continue reading!**


	2. Colux

**A/N: Hope everyone liked the first chapter. Anyways, 'cause I'm feeling motivated, second Chapter! Hope everyone likes it! Read and Review please, as always!**

 **Disclaimer: Pokemon is the Property of Game Freak. I own none of it.**

 **Chapter 2: Colux**

"Me?" Calem asked, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Grix, his Meowstic, had a similar expression on his face. "You want to battle me? Now? B-b-but you're Seth Thompson! You beat the Sinnoh Elite Four! And you almost beat the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia!"

Seth smiled. "Well, I won't use my Sinnoh team then. 'Sides, I wanna see what kind of person you are, Calem Albright. And the best way I know to do that is to battle you, see how you and your Pokemon work together, communicate."

Calem rubbed the back of his head. He knew he had to get to Aquacorde Town by ten, but a battle with Seth Thompson was almost too good to pass up, no matter how badly he would lose. _The others would be so jealous_ , he thought. _But, I don't want to risk running late._ "I don't know," he said.

"How's 'bout this?" Seth asked. "One v. one, and, if you beat me, I'll give you a Pokemon I caught in Unova."

Calem's eyes shot open wide. "Wait, really?"

Seth smiled. "Yes, really. _But,_ only if you win." Calem bit his lip in thought and weighed his options. A few moments passed before he nodded.

"You're on," he said. "Grix! Let's go!" Calem skated back, creating enough distance between Seth and him for a makeshift battlefield.

Seth smiled and threw a Pokeball into the air. "Lampent!" The lamp Pokemon spun around on the battlefield, its flame burning bright. "Beat me, and this Lampent is yours," Seth said. "You can go first."

Calem nodded and grinned. "Grix! Cut!" The cat-like Pokemon rushed forward, a paw glowing white, and slashed at Lampent. The attack simply passed through Lampent, doing no damage.

Seth smirked. "Lampent! Inferno!" Lampents flame grew bright and a blast of dark blue fire blasted out, plowing into Grix and throwing him back and into the air.

"Grix!" Calem shouted. The Meowstic landed on its feet, but staggered back a couple of steps. "You good, pal?" Grix nodded, facing his foe with a determined expression.

"By the way, Calem," Kyle said from the sidelines, watching the battle closely with Amy, "Lampent is a Ghost-type Pokemon so Normal-Type attacks like Cut aren't going to work on him."

Calem felt like punching himself in the face. Of course, he knew that. _Arceus, that's embarrassing_ , he thought. "Well then, in that case! Grix! Shadow Ball, s'il vous plait!" Grix nodded and formed a crackling ball of purple energy, hurling it at his opponent.

"Will-o-Wisp, Lampent!" Seth commanded. A ball of light blue fire formed between Lampents hands before it tossed the ball at the Grix's attack. The two attacks collided and exploded, cancelling each other.

"Grix, Psyshock!" Calem shouted before the dust cleared. Before Seth could command anything for Lampent, three thick balls of blue, purple, and light blue light crashed into Lampent, sending it back.

"Not bad," Seth muttered. "Did a fair amount of damage. You good, Lampent?" The Pokemon tilted forward slightly, as if nodding. "Good! Lampent, Inferno!"

"Grix, Light Screen!" Calem commanded. Grix nodded and raised his hands as the blast of fire flew towards him. A shield of light gold hexagons appeared around him before fading. The fire attack plowed into the shield, destroying a hexagon and dealing some damage to Grix, but leaving the Constraint Pokemon relatively unharmed. "Shadow Ball!" Grix leaped into the air and formed another ball of purple energy, throwing it at his opponent.

"Inferno!" Another blast of fire arced out towards the attack, the two attacks cancelling each other again. "Shadow Ball!" Lampent formed its own ball of purple energy, hurling that towards its foe.

"Grix, take it!" Calem ordered. The attack took out another hexagon and did a bit of damage to Grix but the Meowstic shook it off. "Good, now Shadow Ball again!"

"Lampent! Spin quickly and use Flamethrower!" Seth ordered. His Lampent did just that, and before Calem and Grix's amazed eyes, a tornado of fire surrounded Lampent. The Shadow Ball crashed into it, but the fire quickly destroyed the attack. "Now, attack Grix!" The tornado, with Lampent still in it, spun towards Grix, and met his shield. With every second of contact, a hexagon broke before the shield shattered completely and Grix was sent flying into the ground.

"Grix!" Calem yelled. His Pokemon slowly got up off of the ground, badly hurt.

"Shadow Ball!" Calem looked up as Lampent launched another attack. Before Grix could counter, the ball of dark energy crashed into him and sent him flying. Grix hit the ground and attempted to get back up, before he collapsed again.

"Grix is unable to battle," Kyle intoned. "Seth and Lampent win!" Calem skated over to his Meowstic and gingerly picked him up.

"You okay, pal?" he asked, taking a small diamond shaped object out of his bag. "Here's a revive. Rest up." Calem took out a Pokeball and returned his friend. He got up and faced Seth. "That… that was awesome! Holy crap, I've never seen anyone use Flamethrower as a shield!"

Seth smiled. "Thanks. If there's anything I've learned, it's that you have gotta be willing to think outside the box in order to get by in these battles. You did good, Calem."

"You don't have to compliment me," Calem said. "I lost. You won. I could've done better."

"You were facing an opponent who has more experience and who's Pokemon is probably more adept at battling than yours. All in all, you did great." Seth returned Lampent. "Which is why I want you to have Lampent." He tossed the Pokeball to Calem who juggled it around before getting a good grasp on it.

"Wait, you're still giving him to me?" Calem asked. "Why?"

"Lampent and I never really connected," Seth said. "And, you have room to grow, to become a great Trainer. Lampent seems suited for you, somehow."

Calem looked at the Pokeball closely. "Lampent, huh? Well, from now on, I'll call you Colux!" He tossed the Pokeball up and caught it. "Welcome to the team, Lampent!"

"Be careful, though," Amy said. "Lampent is a pretty tough and high-leveled Pokemon. He might not listen to you at first."

"Oh, he will eventually," Calem said. "We'll be pals!" He frowned. "Why are you guys here anyways?"

"Professor Rowan sent us," Kyle said. He stepped up besides his friends and grinned. "He's been having us run to all the different regions to collect data and work with the Professors. Something about not trusting second-hand data. We came in on ferry recently, and the Professor told us to start here."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Rather, Sycamore told us."

Calem's eyes snapped wide. "That reminds me! What time is it?"

"About nine-fifty, why?" Amy said.

"Sycamore gave my friend Trevor Pokemon and Pokedexes to deliver to me and the rest of my group, for us to go on a journey or something," Calem explained hurriedly, adding Colux's Pokeball to his belt, next to Grix's. "And I'm supposed to meet them in Aquacorde Town! Oh man, I'm going to be late if I don't get moving!"

Seth smiled. "Well, I suggest you hurry and take this opportunity. Once in a lifetime!" he called out as Calem raced off. "I'll be seeing you around, Calem Albright!"

"Bye!" Calem yelled back. "Thanks for the battle and Colux!"

The trio watched him racing off, nostalgic smiles on their face. "Reminds me of the day we met in Pallet Town," Amy said to Seth softly. Her hand slipped into his and he smiled fondly.

"Reminds me of the day you're dad gave me Mudkip," Kyle said. He sighed. "Ah, to be young again."

"Come on, old-timer," Seth said. "We still have some stuff to do here."

Calem skated as fast as he could, his feet practically a blur. Normally it took him about twenty minutes to get Aquacorde Town, and if he arrived late… Serena would disembowel him. "Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me," Calem began chanting to himself. "Come on, Calem! Faster!"

Aquacorde Town, 10:07

"Where's Calem?" Shauna asked. The brown haired girl was sipping a coffee as she, Trevor, Tierno, and Serena sat outside of a local cafe. The group all had drinks, and a glass of cranberry juice was even set out at a fifth seat for Calem.

"I don't know," Trevor said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I called him at nine-thirty and told him about it. I thought he'd arrive early."

"Maybe he's checking out some sick dance moves," Tierno suggested. The others looked at him. "What? It could happen! I know I get distracted by sick moves."

Serena smiled. "For some reason, Calem doesn't strike me as the dancing-type, Tierno. I think he leaves that to you."

The black-haired youth grinned. "Of course! I've got the best moves around!"

"So, if he's not checking out dance moves, where is he?" Shauna asked. "He's never late. In fact, he's usually the first one here."

Serena shrugged. "I saw him this morning when he snuck into my room to wake me," she said. She looked at the other's faces. Tierno and Trevor looked shocked, with Trevor blushing slightly out of embarrassment. Shauna, on the other hand, was grinning wildly and winked at Serena, conveying her pride in her best friend. "It wasn't like that!" Serena protested. "I was still under the covers so it's not like he saw anything!"

"Would he if you weren't still in bed?" Shauna teased. "Ooh! Did you slept the covers slip down just a little, just to tease him a bit?"

"Shauna!" Serena cried, shocked and appalled. "It was just him playing a stupid prank! He wanted to make sure I wasn't late."

"How sweet!" Shauna cooed. "He cares about you! I bet he wanted to walk with you!"

"Argh!" Serena shouted. "Shauna!" Serena was reaching over to strangle her best friend when the group heard shouting. They turned to see a blur race by, apologizing to the pedestrians behind him. Calem Albright slowed to a stop in front of his group's table and took his seat, smiling sheepishly. "You're late," Serena said.

Calem grinned. "I know, I know, but trust me. I have an excellent reason!"

Serena cocked an eyebrow. "Really? And what would that be?"

"Seth Thompson and I battled and I got a Pokemon from him!" Calem said proudly. He tossed out a Pokeball, revealing his new Lampent. "Colux, meet the group. Shauna," Shauna waved and smiled at the Lamp Pokemon, "Tierno," Tierno shot finger guns at the Fire Pokemon, "Trevor," who waved nervously, "and Serena," who smiled politely. Colux looked around and focused on Shauna. He floated next to her and his fire, normally flickering, shaped itself into a star.

"Aw!" Shauna said, patting his head. "I think he likes me!"

"Wait, so you really battled Seth?" Serena asked excitedly, her eyes glimmering. She and the group had watched Seth's battles against the Sinnoh Elite Four four years ago on TV and she had looked up to the older trainer ever since.

"Yup! Me and Grix versus him and Lampent. He lost but he told me that he believed in me and gave me Colux! We're totally going to be best friends!"

The blonde girl slammed her hands onto the table. Calem blushed as leaned towards him, her face inches away. "You have to tell me everything! Every last detail! What was he like, was he nice? Oh my Mew, did he do one of those cool combination attacks he did in the battle against Cynthia, you know, when his Empoleon combined Ice Beam and Aqua Jet, or Drill Peck and Aqua Jet? Was he nice? Do you have his number? Is he still here?!"

Trevor looked around the table. Tierno and Shauna were playing with Colux who seemed to enjoy throwing fire into the air to make mini-fireworks. Serena was still excitedly asking Calem questions, her face inches from him. Trevor looked down at his bag and sighed. "Guys! Focus! Remember what we're here to do!"

The others turned to look at him. He grabbed the bag and put it on the table, pulling out five Pokeballs and five Pokedexes. He looked up at them. "It's time to pick our Pokemon!"

 **A/N: And I figured now was a good of time as any to end this. So, I hope everyone liked it. Colux is derived from Lampent's French name, Mélancolux, which is a portmanteau of Mélancolie and Lux, or sadness and light. Anyways, next Chapter is the start of the adventure! Hope everyone continues reading!**


	3. Grenou and Chester

**A/N: Thanks to all those who have read this and followed or faved it. It means a lot. Anyways, let's get started, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It is the Property of Game Freak.**

 **Chapter 3: Grenou and Chester**

Trevor grabbed the Pokeballs, and, one by one, released the Pokemon. Within a minute, a Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Chespin, and Froakie were standing before the new Trainers. "Sorry about the one fire-type," Trevor said, rubbing the back of his head and smiling nervously. "The Professor said he grew a bit too attached to Fennekin to let it go."

"It's cool, Trev," Tierno said. "Can I-"

"HE'S SO CUTE!" Shauna squealed, rushing over and picking the Squirtle up. The others clasped their hands over their ears due to the volume. Shauna's face, however, was split with the biggest grin as she examined the Pokemon. "OH MY ARCEUS! LOOK AT HIS EYES! THEY'RE SO BIG AND CUTE!" Shauna took out a Pokemon and released her first Pokemon, an Eevee. "Look at him, Veevee! Isn't he the cutest thing ever!"

The Squirtle looked between Shauna and Veevee and smiled. Shauna squealed even louder at that. "Squirt! Squirtle!" the Pokemon said. Shauna cooed and put him down, only Squirtle to hid into his shell. Squirtle spun around quickly before popping back out of its shell with an excited "Squirtle!" Shauna laughed and clapped her hands.

"I want Squirtle!" she said. She hugged the Squirtle to her chest and turned to Trevor, her eyes huge. "Please?" Trevor looked around frantically, a blush appearing on his face. Tierno waved his hand in admission, Calem shrugged, and Serena nodded. Trevor nodded himself and Shauna yelled with delight. She ran forward, releasing Squirtle and hugged Trevor tightly. "Thank you!" she said before letting go and holding Squirtle up again. "I'll name you…Turtly! Welcome to the team, Turtly!"

"My turn!" Tierno said. He pulled a Pokeball off of his belt and released a Corphish. "Alright Corphish, we're looking for someone with sick dance moves…" Tierno and Corphish walked down the line, stopping in front of Charmander. Charmander looked up and yawned. Tierno scratched his chin, then smiled. "You'll be perfect! You may not dance now, but when we're done training, you'll be the best dancing Charmander in Kalos! Nay, in the world!" Tierno knelt down and extended a hand. Corphish extended a claw as well. "Whadda say, Charmander? Wanna join my team?" Charmander nodded and grabbed his new Trainer's hand and Corphish's claw.

"Who's next?" Calem asked. He glanced over to Serena on his right, then to Trevor on his left. "You guys have a preference?"

"I don't care," Serena said. "Whoever I pick will still end up being the perfect partner."

"Well said," Calem said. "Trev? You wanna go?"

Trevor nodded, hands trembling. "Sure, sure, of course." He took out a Pokeball and released a Floette with a blue flower. "Help me pick, Floette?" The tiny fairy Pokemon nodded and floated alongside her trainer. Trevor knelt down in front of Bulbasaur. "You seem smart and strong," Trevor said. Floette nodded in agreement. "I always did like Bulbasaurs. Would y-you like to join my team, Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur reached out with two vines and offered them to Trevor and Floette. The three shook and Bulbasaur happily bonded over to its new Trainer, elated.

Calem glanced at the remaining Pokemon, a Chespin and a Froakie. "Well, Serena, you have a preference? I know I do."

Serena nodded. "On three?"

Calem smiled. "On three."

"One," the two Trainers counted together, "two, three!"

"I want Chespin!" Serena said as Calem said, "I want Froakie!" The two looked at each other and laughed. "That was easy," Serena said, walking over to Chespin. "Alright, Chespin. You and I are going to be partners from now on, deal?" Chespin looked at Serena, teetering from side to side. He nodded after a minute and hopped into Serena's arms, cuddling up like a little baby. "Aw. Let's see, I'll name you Chester."

"Leaves you and me, Froakie," Calem said, kneeling down by the Pokemon. "If you're willing, you, me, Grix, and Colux will become the best. And to follow the tradition, I'll call you Grenou, deal?" Froakie leapt up onto Calem's shoulder and nodded stoically. "Ooh, serious are ya? That's good, I can use someone to keep me honest," Calem joked, rubbing Grenou's chin.

Trevor picked up the Pokedexes and passed them around. Calem took his gratefully and checked out Grenou's info on it. He rubbed the bubbles on Grenou's back. "Cool, so these protect you, huh? That'll be useful."

Serena put her Pokedex into her bag and turned to face Calem. "So, Calem, now that we both have new Pokemon, I think a battle is in order. And because I'm feeling generous, you can use either Colux or Grenou. I'll use just Chester."

Calem grinned. "All right! Colux! Let's do this!" The Lamp Pokemon floated over in front of him while Chester leaped down from Serena's arms onto the battlefield. "Trevor, officiate for us!"

"But there's more!" Trevor said. Neither of us his friends seemed to hear him. Trevor sighed and nodded. "All right, all right. One v. one?" Calem and Serena nodded. "Then, begin!"

"Colux, Inferno!" Calem ordered. Colux did nothing. "Uh, Colux?" Calem asked. "Can you use Inferno please?" Colux continued to float in the air, apparently oblivious to his Trainer's orders. "How about Will-O-Wisp? Shadow Ball? Flamethrower?" Nothing happened and Calem felt himself grow sweaty. "Seriously?! Come on, Colux!" Colux turned to face him and floated off, going to rest by Shauna.

Serena laughed. "Looks like Colux doesn't quite wanna listen to you yet, huh Calem?" Calem shrugged, his face saying _Whatcha gonna' do?_

"We're still going to get along great," he said. "We'll be awesome, just you wait, but for now, Grenou! You and me, pal!" Grenou leaped off of Calem's shoulder and faced down Chester, its look one of pure concentration. "Let's kick some ass, Grenou! Quick Attack!" The little frog sprinted towards Chester, moving fast enough to kick up some decent wind. Before Serena could order anything from Chester, Grenou plowed into him. Chester flew back and landed on his feet, staggering a bit as he tried to find his balance.

"Chester!" Serena cried as Grenou leaped back to his Trainer. Her eyes narrowed in determination and a small smile played on her lips. "Chester! Tackle!" Chester nodded and dove at Grenou. Grenou jumped back, dodging the attack. "Vine Whip!" Two vines appeared from Chester's back and whipped down at Grenou. Grenou dodged the first only to be hit and then grabbed by the second. Chester smiled and threw Grenou back.

"Water Pulse!" Calem cried. Grenou nodded and formed a ball of bright blue water between its hands, before tossing it at Chester. Chester took the attack square in the chest, and the exploding ball of water drove him back a few feet, but seemed to do no real damage. "Okay, new plan. How you holding up, Grenou?"

"Froak," Grenou said, not wasting time with more than needed to be said.

"I'll take that as a good sign. Grenou! Quick Attack!" Grenou blasted off towards Chester, moving extremely quick.

"Pin Missile!" Serena ordered. Green bolts of light shot out of Chester's spines and arced towards Grenou.

"Dodge them!" Calem shouted. "Come on, Grenou!" Grenou increased his speed, weaving between the falling bolts of light before leaping up and dodging one last blast. "Pound!" Calem ordered as Grenou landed behind Chester. A hand slapped Chester's face and sent it staggering.

"Ches?" Chester asked. He shook his head and watched Grenou carefully.

"It's fine, Chester. We have the advantage," Serena said confidently. "Vine Whip!" The vines started snapping down at Grenou who danced back and forth, dodging them. "Keep up the pressure!" The vines came down faster and Grenou got hit a few times, but kept moving. He was slowing, though, and the attacks had clearly done some damage.

Calem looked at his Pokedex and smiled. "Grenou! Substitute!" Grenou nodded and a puff of smoke appeared, leaving behind… Grenou. A vine smacked into Grenou, only to destroy the him, revealing it as a fake Grenou.

"Chester!" Serena cried as Grenou appeared, seemingly from nowhere, behind Chester. "Behind you!" The Chespin turned only to be knocked back by a Quick Attack.

"Keep it up, Grenou!" Calem ordered. "Don't let up!" Grenou nodded and continued the onslaught of Quick Attacks, dashing into Chester repeatedly.

"Vine Whip!" Serena shouted. Chester started the attack, only to be knocked down by Grenou before he could attack.

"Finish him, Grenou!" Calem shouted. "Quick Attack!" Grenou sped towards Chester, tackling him in the chest, and sending the Spiny Nut Pokemon crashing down.

Trevor checked on Chester before nodding. "Chester's unable to battle," he said. "Grenou and Calem win the battle!"

"Way to go, Grenou!" Calem cried, extending a hand. Grenou cracked a smile and high-fived his Trainer before hopping onto his shoulder, resuming his stoic expression.

"You okay, Chester?" Serena asked, pulling out a small diamond shaped object. "Have a revive." Chester quickly ate the medicine and popped up, grinning. He waddled over to Calem and extended a vine to Grenou.

"Aw, he wants to shake with you!" Calem said to Grenou. "Go ahead, Grenou." Grenou hopped down and took Chester's paw and shook it solemnly. Chester grinned and waddled back over to Serena who picked up the little Pokemon.

"Calem, I think Colux likes me more than you!" Shauna teased as Colux created a Will-O-Wisp, spinning it around his body. "Jealous?"

"Not really," Calem said. "Colux is new to my team, and pretty high-leveled. I didn't really expect him to obey me right away, but just you watch. We're going to kick ass together." Calem returned Colux and pocketed the Pokeball.

"Hey, Trev', didn't you say there was something more for us?" Tierno said. He and Corphish had spent the battle trying to teach Charmander some dance moves, resulting in Charmander learning how to waltz.

"Right!" Trevor said, digging into his bag and pulling out four envelopes. "For our parents," he said, handing them out. "It's a letter from Sycamore asking for permission for us to travel and help him with his research on the Pokedex."

Calem's smile faded a little as he took the letter. "Right. So, when are we supposed to meet this Sycamore guy anyways?"

"Whenever we reach Lumiose," Trevor said.

"So, in a couple of days then?" Serena asked.

"Well, if we had a Flying Pokemon we could get there instantly," Trevor said. "But, my sister's Flygon only drops me off here before returning, and I doubt it could fly all five of us."

"So we take the scenic route," Calem said. "Anyone have a map?" Trevor pulled one out of his bag and unfolded it. "So from here we pass through Santalune Forest and then Santalune City to reach Lumiose."

"Santalune City?" Serena asked, her interest piqued. "That's where Santalune Gym is! Guys, we have to stop there! I need to challenge that gym!"

Trevor scratched his head. "Well, the trip on foot shouldn't take that long… maybe a day or so?"

"It's a couple of hours to Santalune," Tierno said. "If we stay the night there, then we should Lumiose by tomorrow easily. Even with Serena's challenge."

"Then I guess we better go pack up," Serena said, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Soon we'll be off on our adventure!"

"I'll go tell my parents," Shauna said, returning Veevee and Turtly to their Pokeballs. "Meet back here in an hour?"

Tierno nodded. He and Shauna both lived in Aquacorde Town and he expected to be the first one to be finished. "Trev, do you need stuff?"

"I'll pack the stuff I've left at your place," Trevor said. Because Trevor lived in Lumiose City with his sister he often slept over at Tierno's, always keeping a bag of clothes in Tierno's house. "My sister has already given me permission."

"I'll bring the tent," Calem offered. "We'll probably spend more than a few nights outside." Trevor nodded.

"Good idea, Calem," he said. "Tierno, you have plenty of camping food, right?"

"Yeah, I'll bring it, along with some other food stuff," Tierno said. He smiled happily. "We'll need to eat something good, after all!"

"We'll see you guys in an hour then!" Serena said, running off.

"Wait up!" Calem said, skating after her. "Serena! Come on! Wait up!" Calem groaned as he skated fasted, eventually catching up to his friend when she stopped in Vaniville Town. Both of them were out of breath but Serena seemed to be in a better state than Calem.

"Sorry, but I'm so excited!" Serena said. "I mean, I've been dreaming of challenging the gyms all my life and now I have the chance to! It's too much!"

"Let's just hope your mom lets you go," Calem joked. "She may not be able to handle her Rhyhorn Rider heir leaving her."

Serena waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she said. "See you soon." With that Serena ran off to her house. Calem watched her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"She's definitely something, isn't she, Grenou?" Calem asked. Grenou said nothing; there was no reason to. Calem turned and walked towards his own house, pushing open the door with a sigh.

As usual, it was deserted. It always was. Calem pulled out his Holo Caster, opened the letter, and called his parents.

His mom answered on the second ring, looking as tired as she always did. "Calem!" she said, her expression lifting to resemble something close to happiness. "How are you?"

Calem smiled. "Same old, same old. Um, mom, there's actually something I wanna ask you. So this guy named Sycamore entrusted me and the others with Pokemon and Pokedexes and is hoping that we can go journey across the region to help with his research." Calem scratched Grenou's chin. "That's how I got this little guy."

"Sycamore? Professor Sycamore? I remember him! Of course you can go, Cale, it'll be a great experience for you!" For the first time in a long time, Calem saw his mom look genuinely happy. "Traveling with Pokemon is a great experience and I bet you'll love it!"

"Thanks," Calem said. "So, how's Johto?"

"It's nice," Mrs. Albright said. "Very different than Kalos, but all around a nice place. The League here is a total mess, though. They really need some help reorganizing their tournaments and getting their Gym Leaders up to snuff."

"That's good," Calem said. _I think_ he added mentally. "So, when are you guys coming home?"

His mom sighed. "I don't know, Cale. Not for a while. I'm sorry." Her eyes teared up a little.

"It's fine," Calem said hastily. He didn't need his mom to cry. "Honestly. Grace has been helping me with groceries and checking up on me every now and then. Everything's fine, promise."

His mom smiled sadly. "When we get back we really should do something nice for the Gaines. They've done so much for you."

Calem smiled faintly. "Yeah, they have. I have to go pack, though, so say hi to dad for me, will ya?"

"Of course, Cale. Have a fun journey."

"Will do, Mom." Calem ended the call and sighed. He took out his Pokeballs and released Grix and Colux. "You heard all that, right, Grix?" The Meowstic nodded sadly and patted his Trainer's hand. "I know they have important jobs at all, what with the whole famous Trainer thing, and that they're invaluable for Pokemon Leagues, but still. The Gaines have done more for me than they have."

Calem shook himself out of his slump and stood up. "All right, no more moping. Today's the day I leave on a journey, a journey that'll let me impress _her_. Let's go, you guys. Colux, Grenou, time for you to see my room." Calem walked upstairs, followed by his Pokemon and pushed the door open to his room.

It was plain, simple. There was a bed, a dresser, and a nightstand with a lamp. Simple stuff. But, the walls were covered in drawings and paintings. A lot of them were simple charcoal or pencil drawings, many of them of Grix. A few were of Vaniville Town and some were of Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor with their Pokemon. "I like to think of it as my art room," Calem said as Grenou looked closely at the pictures. "Nothing much to speak of. And don't worry, you guys will make the wall, too."

Calem walked off and pulled out a backpack, stuffing clothes in it, making sure he had some winter wear. "Never know if it'll snow. 'Sides, I hear Snowbelle and Dendemille are cold places," he muttered to himself. He took off his messenger bag and made sure that he had plenty of potions for his Pokemon, loaded up on notebooks and drawing materials, and finally made sure he had enough money. His parents, if nothing else, always made sure he had lots of money. He also pulled a sleeping bag out of his closet and tied it to the top of his backpack.

"Grix?" Calem asked. "Where did I leave my tent?" Grix meowed behind him and Calem turned to see Grix pulling the tent from underneath the bed. "Excellent! Thank you, Grix! Big enough to fit seven people! This should work for us." With that, Calem pulled on his messenger bag, slung the backpack over his shoulders, and hefted up the tent. Grix meowed and Calem rolled his eyes but added the backpack to Grix who slung it over his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Serena, all packed up, was still arguing with her mom. "Come on, Mom!" Serena protested. "This is a big moment for me! To finally travel and become a full-fledged trainer!"

"I thought you were going to become a Rhyhorn Rider, like me," her mom, Grace Gaines, protested. "I've been training you since birth!"

"I never asked for that, Mom," Serena pointed out. "You've known since I was eight that I've wanted to become a Trainer, and then eventually a Gym Leader. Don't make me miss this chance, Mom!"

Grace sighed. When she had Serena she couldn't help but hope that her daughter would follow in her footsteps. It had been easy for Grace to dismiss Serena's dream when she was younger; she was too young to know what she wanted. But now, Serena was sixteen, old enough to have a good idea of who she was and what she wanted, and nothing Grace could do would change that. "Fine," she said slowly. "Just, behave yourself. And watch out for Calem."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mom," Serena said.

Grace smirked. "Just don't do anything foolish," she teased. She had seen Calem's actions around her daughter and secretly approved. Unfortunately, the true intention of her message flew over her daughter's head.

"Deal," Serena said, smiling. She grabbed her bags and rushed outside, Chester waddling after her as fast as possible. Grace watched her go, a sad but happy smile on her face. She turned to a picture of her husband and Serena and tears welled up.

"Watch over her, William," she said quietly.

Calem was waiting for Serena when she ran out, with Colux and Grix behind him and Grenou perched on his shoulder. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Serena grinned. "Ready!" Chester tugged at her skirt, and Serena bent down and picked him up. The two friends set off towards Aquacorde Town. "What did your parents say?" Serena asked.

Calem's smiled faltered for a second. "My mom was a big fan of me leaving on a journey. Thought it'd be a good experience."

Serena nodded, watching Calem out of the corner of her eye. "When are they coming back?"

"No clue," Calem said, his smile fading altogether.

"Sorry, Serena said. Serena knew how tenuous Calem's relationship was with his parents, having known him since she moved to Vaniville Town six years ago. Calem was her second oldest friend, and ever since his parents started traveling, first to take on Tournaments, then to help organize them, he had spent a lot of time at Serena's house as a kid.

"Not your fault," Calem said. He smiled again, and Serena was glad. Sad-Calem made her heart melt and looked so unnatural. But, when Calem smiled, he could light up a room. "Besides, we're about to go off on a magical journey. Who knows what'll happen? What we'll see and do? The possibilities are limitless!"

Serena laughed. "Well, I know what I'm doing; winning the Pokemon League!"

"Should I call you Champion now or later?" he asked.

"Hmm, how about now?" Serena joked. Calem's smile grew. He bowed before her in a dramatic fashion that made her giggle.

"I must say, Champion, your beauty exceeds the descriptions I've heard," he said. "How do you do it?"

Serena punched him in the shoulder, holding Chester with one arm. "Shut up, Calem," she said, a huge smile on her face. "Wait 'til I win before you interview me."

Calem nodded solemnly. "Then I shall accompany you this whole time, protecting you from all harm so that you can complete your goal, Serena Gaines." He laughed. "Come on, let's go get this thing started!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Serena laughed, running forward. "Just try and keep up!"

 **A/N: Once again, another chapter finished. Hopefully everyone liked this one and I hope you all continue to read. So, Grenou is a diminutive form of grenouille, which means Frog in French, and is part of Froakie's French name; Grenousse, a combination of grenouille and mousse (foam). Calem's method of nicknames is based off of X from the manga. Anyways, please leave a review if you like!**


	4. Versus Viola

A/N: I would love to give a shout out to 2Lazy2Login, the guest/member who reviewed my work. Thank you so much. What you said was incredibly helpful and super uplifting. And just to reassure you, I have some ideas planned that will hopefully take this above just being a generic rehashing of the game. Whoever you are, reviewer, I wish you had logged in so I could message you to truly thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, it is the property of Game Freak.

Chapter 4: Versus Viola

Calem smiled when he saw the number of bags Tierno carried. A backpack was slung on his back, and two smaller bags were perched on each shoulder. "Have enough, Tierno?" Calem teased. Calem had just many bags, but Grix was holding one, so in his mind, it didn't really count.

"I think so," Tierno said seriously. "My bag of clothes and potions and stuff, my cooking stuff, and the food stuff. Yup, I think I have everything!"

"Where's your sleeping bag?" Calem asked. "I mean, I never thought of you as the type to rough it, Tierno."

"I have it," Trevor said, hefting his pack. The bag was nearly as big as the red-haired boy himself, with a green sleeping bag tied on top of it. "My sleeping bag is small enough to fit inside with all my stuff, and Tierno is carrying some of my stuff. You have the tent?"

Calem hefted it in his arms. "Got it."

Shauna's eyes widened. "Wait, just one tent? What about Serena and I? Where are we going to sleep?!"

Tierno scratched his head, clearly confused. "In the tent, with us. I don't understand…" Shauna turned to Tierno, aghast at what he had suggested.

"Us girls, sleep with you guys?!" Shauna shrieked. "That… that's so uncouth and inappropriate!"

"Shauna, please calm down," Trevor said, blushing slightly at the idea of sleeping so close to a girl. "We're not asking you to change with us. Us guys can change away from you and Serena okay?"

"The tent's pretty big, too," Calem added. "My dad boasted it could a Snorlax with room to spare, so fitting us in there shouldn't be too hard, right? Plenty of space!" He smiled innocently. "Besides, I doubt any of us will act like anything but good friends."

Shauna fumed but nodded. "Fine, but, if any of you try anything, you're all sleeping outside!"

Calem laughed, Tierno shrugged, and Trevor blushed at the insinuation. "Deal," they said.

Serena rolled her eyes, her foot's rapid tapping managing to kick up a small dust cloud. "Come on, guys! Let's just get going! I have a gym to get to!" With that Serena ran ahead. Calem sighed and gestured for the others to follow. He and Grix took up the rear.

"She really is energetic," he said. Tierno turned towards him and smiled.

"It's what makes her Serena," the dancer said.

"Well put, Tierno," Calem said.

Nearly half an hour later, the quintet entered Santalune Forest. "I've never actually been in here before," Serena muttered. "It's so… beautiful."

Trevor nodded. "And peaceful. I could spend days in here." He walked into the grass and looked up at the trees, completely at peace. A cry broke him out of his reverie and he looked at the source. A Pikachu stood in the grass not far from him, staring at him quizzically. Trevor smiled and took out his Pokedex, scanning the Pokemon. "Thank you, Pikachu," he said. "One step closer to filling this out!"

Pikachu cocked its head at the Trainer and walked up to him, rubbing against his leg. Trevor smiled and bent down, rubbing the Pokemon's head. "Pika," Pikachu growled contentedly.

"You're pretty cute," Trevor said. "I bet you would make a great addition to my team." He took out a Pokeball and released Bulbasaur. "So, Pikachu, would you be willing to come with me, or do I have to battle you first?"

Pikachu looked at him, then at Bulbasaur, and smiled. It jumped back and got into a battle position. Trevor smiled slightly. "Battle it, then. Bulbasaur, V-vine Whip!" Trevor stammered.

Meanwhile, Tierno had been challenged by a young kid wearing shorts. "Let's go!" the kid yelled. "No way I'm going to lose to you, even with your spiffy pair of shorts! Man, shorts are awesome!" Tierno scratched his head.

"That is so weird," he said, releasing Corphish to face the kid's Fletchling. "Alright, Corphish! I know it's not dancing, but let's do our best! Bubblebeam!"

Shauna knelt down and looked at the Lotad swimming peacefully in the lake. Veevee and Turtly watched it, too. "Isn't it cute?" Shauna cooed, pulling out a Pokeball. "I have to have it! It's too cute to pass up!" She threw the Pokeball only for the Lotad to use Water Gun to knock it away. "Aw! Veevee! Get that Lotad! Shadow Ball!" Veevee growled and shot out a dark ball of energy which blasted the Lotad out of the water. "Yes! Keep it up, Veevee until that Lotad is ours!"

Calem and Serena kept walking. Their friends would catch up when they were done. "This forest is super pretty," Calem said after a few minutes. "And big. I mean, we've been walking for like ten minutes or so, and have yet to see the end."

"And then we still have Route 3 to deal with," Serena said. "Trevor said the journey as a whole would take about two hours."

"So we have about an hour and a half left then," Calem said cheerfully. "Route 2 was longer than expected."

"Just means we'll have to move faster!" Serena said. "Come o-" Serena gasped as a blur rushed past her. "What the?" A small, red and grey bird flapped in front of her, chirping happily. "A Fletchling!"

Calem smiled at the little bird. "It certainly startled you, huh?"

Serena grinned. "Yeah, but now that I see how fast it is, I'm determined to catch it! Chester! Vine Whip!" Chester leaped out of his Trainer's arms and sent two vines lashing out. The Fletching weaving between them before blasting Chester back into Serena with a Razor Wind. Serena caught Chester and her grin grew. "Strong, too. Chester, don't let up!" Chester nodded and kept up with the Vine Whips. The Fletchling weaved around, dodging each attack before swooping in and hitting Chester with an Aerial Ace. Chester flew back and Serena dove to catch him. The Fletchling chirped mischievously and flew off.

Calem laughed. "That Fletchling too tough for you?" he asked. Serena grinned.

"It was surprisingly strong," she admitted. "But, I missed my chance."

"There are other Fletchlings to catch," Calem pointed out.

"But they're not that one," Serena pointed out. "I'll find it again, and I'll catch it. No other Fletchling will do."

Calem rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Serena. Let's keep going, anyways. We should find a spot for lunch."

"You're hungry already?"

"It's past noon," Calem pointed out. "Of course I'm hungry! And I bet the others are, too." The duo, plus Grix, reached a clearing a few minutes later, where Calem gratefully put down his bags and the tent. "Man, I wished we had a Rhyhorn or something," he said, looking at Serena meaningfully.

"Rhyhorn is not some sort of pack Numel!" Serena protested. "He races, built for speed. He can't be bothered with carrying our stuff."

"Plus your mom would kill you," Calem added.

"And that," Serena admitted, smiling.

Fifteen minutes later the others caught up and dropped to the ground exhausted. Tierno wasted no time in taking out a portable grill and began brewing up some soup using the berries he had collected in the forest. The others discussed their mini-adventure in the forest.

"I caught a Lotad!" Shauna gushed, releasing the Pokemon. Lotad looked around and waddled over the Shauna, plopping down in her lap. "Her name is Tadlo and isn't she so cute? Look at her little dish, it's the most adorable thing ever!" Veevee growled in protest and Shauna rubbed the Eevee's head. "Except for you and Turtly of course, Veevee. You three are all tied in my book for cuteness!" Veevee growled contentedly and snuggled up closer to her trainer.

"I caught a Pikachu," Trevor said, smiling. "And I collected so much data! I think I analyzed every Pokemon in the forest!"

"Corphish and I showed that kid back there how dancing and battling work together," Tierno said, stirring his stew. "It wasn't that intense but still awesome!"

"Serena got destroyed by a Fletchling!" Calem said, smiling. Serena gasped and punched him in the shoulder.

"Jerk! And I was not destroyed! I just wasn't prepared, that's all. You saw how fast it was and how strong it was!"

Calem grinned. "I know, I know. Just messing with you. Wonder where it flew off to?" He was answered by a taunting chirp and turned see a Fletchling dive down and grab a berry out of Tierno's hand before flying off again.

"Hey!" Tierno shouted before shrugging good-naturedly and returning to the soup. He didn't really need that berry anyways.

"That's it!" Serena cried. "See? It's got that little star marking over its right eye."

Calem did indeed see; a tiny white star surrounded the Fletchling's right eye, completely out of place on a body of mostly grey and red. It was the same Fletchling as before. Before anyone could react, though, the Fletchling flew off again, chirping happily. "And there it goes again," Calem said.

"Well, lunch is ready," Tierno said, presenting bowls of soup, giving one to each Trainer. He also revealed a big bowl of Pokefeed. "And that's for the Pokemon." He released Corphish and Charmander, and the others released their Pokemon, too. The group dug into their meal with gusto.

"That was delicious," Calem said as he helped Tierno pack away the cooking supplies. At the same time, Trevor and Shauna were struggling to stuff the giant bag of Pokefeed back into Shauna's second bag. "I gotta say, Tierno, best meal I've had in a while, honestly."

Tierno smiled. "Well, you gotta learn how to cook fast when neither of your parents can. It grew on me as a hobby."

"Ready?" Serena asked, tapping her foot impatiently again. Chester was perched on her shoulders and looked completely ecstatic. Every flower and Pokemon in the trees elicited a happy cry from the small Pokemon. "I have a Gym battle to get to!"

Calem rolled his eyes, hefting his bags. "All right, all right, Serena. We're coming. Lead the way." The group of friends continued their walk through the forest, chatting about silly things like books they've read, the latest movies that have come out, stuff like that. They exited the forest about fifteen minutes later, continuing down Route 3. Serena barely slowed during the entire walk; she walked with quick and purposeful steps, determined to make it to Santalune City as fast as possible.

Nearly an hour later, they arrived in Santalune, everyone but Serena tired. Calem, Tierno, and Shauna whistled as they walked into the city; having grown up in Aquacorde and Vaniville Town, they had never been in a city before, and Santalune City was quite the city. "Everything seems, bigger," Shauna said looking around at the shops and businesses. The buildings were all taller than the usual two or three story buildings of their hometowns, but none were taller than six stories.

"It feels like a bigger version of Aquacorde," Tierno said, looking around. He squinted and pointed. "Why is that guy riding a Gogoat?"

"I thought there'd be bigger buildings, like skyscrapers or something, and a lot more people and cars," Calem admitted. Trevor smiled. He had almost forgotten that his friends had never left Aquacorde and Vaniville.

"That's more along the lines of Lumiose," he said. "Santalune is one of the smaller cities in Kalos. Come on, there's this little inn over here that my sister and I stayed at once; we can rest there."

"But my gym battle!" Serena protested loudly. "I can see the gym from here!"

"Serena! Please don't shout like that in public," Trevor said. "It's embarrassing and people might notice us."

"Do you want to go to your gym battle carrying all of that?" Calem asked. He pointed to Serena's bags then gestured to the bags the other's were carrying. "Let's book our rooms, put our stuff down, then go to the gym, okay?"

"Come on, Seri," Shauna said. "We're not all as fit as you, and carrying all this stuff is exhausting! Please, can we go to the hotel first?" Serena sighed but nodded and the group followed Trevor to a small inn. Calem took over payment and booked two rooms; one for the boys, and one for the girls. They dropped their stuff off and as soon as they were outside, Serena bolted for the gym.

"Wait up, Seri!" Shauna cried, running after her. The boys followed closely behind her, and the four burst into the gym out of breath.

"What took you so long?" Serena asked. Chester was napping in her arms, the running somehow not disturbing.

The attendant looked around and smiled. "Are all of you here to challenge the gym?" he asked. "It's so rare that we get so many challengers at once!"

"Just me," Serena said. "Is she here? Can I get started?"

The attendant nodded and waved to a pole behind him. "Just slid down this and make your way to her." Serena grinned and returned Chester to his Pokeball. She ran forward and slid down the pole at breakneck speed. "She certainly is excitable."

"You have no idea," Tierno gasped.

"I assume you four would like to watch your friend's match, right?" The group nodded and the attendant led them to a small elevator off to the side which took them down to a balcony over looking the battlefield. They could see Serena, making her way over to the battlefield, as well as a tall, lithe blond woman with a camera.

Calem frowned. "I know that woman," he said. His eyes widened and a huge grin split his face. "That's Viola!"

"Of course it is," Trevor said, confused. "Who else would it be?"

""The Gym Leader?" Calem said, equally confused. "Why would a photographer like Viola be on the battlefield?"

"Calem, she is the gym leader," Trevor said. "Viola is the Gym Leader of Santalune City." Calem's eyes widened.

"You didn't know that, but you knew who she was?" Shauna asked.

"I've seen her work online," Calem said. "She's a famous photographer and her work is downright gorgeous. Always wanted to meet her or visit one of her exhibitions."

"Wonder if she's as good of a battler as she is an artist," Shauna said, watching Serena as she approached Viola.

"So, you're my latest challenger," Viola said, smiling. "Welcome to Santalune Gym! I'm Viola, and you are?"

"I'm Serena Gaines," Serena said as she grabbed a Pokeball. Viola noticed and her grin grew.

"Eager, huh?" she said, grabbing her own Pokeball. "I like it! Oh, this would make such a good shot, the two of us in battle… maybe some other time. Anyways! Ground rules; this is a two versus two battle. Whoever's Pokemon are knocked out first, both of them, loses, and you cannot switch mid-battle. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great," Serena said.

"Then let's get started! Surskit!" Viola tossed her Pokeball up into the air, releasing the small Pond Skater Pokemon.

"Chester! Take the field!" Serena shouted, releasing her little Chespin. Chester yawned and sleepily adopted his battle stance.

Above them, on the glass ceiling of the gym, the white-star Fletchling landed. It had been following the blond-girl all day, intrigued by her spirit and energy. The Fletchling watched as the blond-girl and her small Pokemon faced a blond-woman and her small Pokemon.

The attendant walked onto the battlefield and raised both hands. He swung them down sharply, shouting, "BEGIN!"

"Surskit, Signal Beam!" Viola ordered. A bright beam of pink and blue energy shot out towards Chester.

"Chester, dodge then Vine Whip!" Serena shouted. Chester nodded and rolled to the side before sending two vines snaking towards Surskit. The whips sent Surskit tumbling backwards before Surskit got on even footing and sent out another Signal Beam. Chester dodged this one as well and once more whipped Surskit back.

"Even match so far," Calem muttered, watching the match closely. "Surskit being part Bug-type does give it the advantage, but because it's part Water as well, Chespin's Grass attacks still do a fair amount of damage. Still, if one of those Signal Beams connect, it could be game over for Chester."

Viola smiled. "You're pretty good," she said. "Surskit, let's shake things up! Jump and use Ice Beam!" Surskit nodded and leapt into the air, firing a cold, white beam at the ground. Surskit begun to spin and Chester hopped back and forth dodging the beam when it passed by. In moments, however, the entire battlefield was covered in ice, and Chester struggled to remain standing.

"Ches?" Chester asked as he slipped down. "Chespin!" Surskit landed on the icy field and began to skate around, moving easily and fluidly.

Serena grimaced. Chester could barely move, and it was clear that Surskit had no problem maneuvering around. "Chester! Rollout!" Chester nodded and tucked himself into a ball, rolling straight towards Surskit. Surskit simply skated aside, and Chester unfurled, trying to gain footing.

"Signal Beam!" Viola ordered.

"Dodge it, Chester!" Serena cried. Chester tried to move, tried to gain some solid footing, but he slipped down and was then blasted back by the Signal Beam. A lot of damage had been dealt; Chester could barely stand. "Vine Whip!" Serena ordered.

"Ice Beam!" Viola shouted. A cold beam shot out and collided with Chester, knocking him back and out.

"Chester is unable to battle!" the attendant cried. Serena grimaced and returned him.

"Rest up, buddy," she said. "You did good." She took out her next Pokeball. "Go, Vivian!" Her Vivillon flew into the air and looked down at Surskit.

"Ooh, a Vivillon," Viola said. "It's so gorgeous! This would make a great shot, that Vivillon over this field of ice."

Serena smiled. "Thanks, but you should pay attention! Vivian, Sleep Powder!" Vivian released a burst of light green spores from her wings, which floated down to Surskit. Surskit, for its part, simply skated around the spores, avoiding them. "Vivian, Gust on Sleep Powder!" Vivian nodded and flew so that the spores were between it and Surskit. With a flap of its wings, a burst of wind caught the spores and plowed into Surskit, knocking it back and sending it to sleep.

"Surskit!" Viola cried. "Wake up!"

"Vivian, before it recovers! Psybeam!" Serena shouted. Vivian's eyes glowed pink and she released a beam of pink and purple energy which blasted Surskit back, knocking it out.

"Surskit is unable to battle!" the attendant cried.

"That's quite a strong Vivillon you have," Viola said, returning Surskit and taking out her next Pokeball. "I wonder how it stacks up against mine?" Viola threw her Pokeball and released her own Vivillon. Unlike Vivian, whose pattern was mostly red with some blue, white, and yellow on the edges, Viola's Vivillon's wings were primarily white with a light green on the edges with some red and gold dots on the edges as well.

"I forgot that Vivillons have different patterns depending on where you catch them," Trevor said. "It's definitely pretty."

"Let's see how strong it is, though," Calem said, watching closely.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Viola asked. "My sister found her in a far-off land during her travels. I've never seen another Vivillon quite like it."

"Neither have I," Serena said. "But, that doesn't matter now! What does matter, is taking you out! Vivian, Psybeam!" The beam blasted towards Viola's Vivillon, who flew under and around it.

"Vivillon, Psychic!" Viola ordered. Her Vivillon's eyes glowed blue and a wave of energy burst out. Vivian was caught in the wave and became outlined in blue, unable to move. Vivillon flapped its wings, and Vivian was hurled to the ground.

"Vivian!" Serena cried.

"Viv, Vivillon," Vivian cried weakly as she floated back up.

"Vivillon, end this!" Viola cried. "Acrobatics!" Calem's eyes shot open as he watched Vivillon, outlined in white, fly into Vivian repeatedly, moving remarkably fast. At the end of the attack, Vivian fell to the floor, and didn't get up.

"Vivian is unable to battle. That means, Viola wins!" the attendant shouted. Serena returned Vivian, her head tilted down, her bangs covering most of her face.

"That was a good match," Viola said, walking forward and extending her hand. "Feel free to come back and retry anytime!" Serena shook her hand and turned away, walking towards the exit.

"Thanks," she said as she exited, her voice glum. Viola tilted her head, a flash of worry going through her expression. The Fletchling watched the girl go and flew off to follow her.

Calem, Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna exchanged worried looks and ran off after her. "Serena," Shauna cried as they met up with her outside, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Serena said, not looking her in the eyes. "I-I just need some alone time," Serena said as she started to run. Calem caught sight of tears running down her cheeks as she ran, her shoulders shaking ever so slightly.

"Oh, Serena," he said softly.

A/N: Serena's Vivillon is the Modern Pattern while Viola has the Fancy Pattern. I figured being the bug expert would net her something awesome like that. Anyways, thank you for reading, and please drop a review! They mean a lot to me!


	5. Fletcher

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon; that honor belongs to Game Freak.**

 **Chapter 5:**

Calem sighed as he walked through the city. After Serena had ran off in tears, the others and him had split up to find her. So far, he hadn't had any luck. Calem looked up at the darkening sky and sighed again; it was getting late. He needed to find Serena soon. Calem kept walking and reached Santalune Park. It wasn't much of a park; they should've just called it Santalune Forest, Jr. _Would've been more truthful_ , Calem thought as he stepped into the small wooded area.

He paused. He heard something, something faint, but decidedly there all the same. It hadn't sound like a Pokemon, or at least not a dangerous. Calem made up his mind quickly and walked towards the sound.

He found Serena sitting on the ground, knees to her chest. Chester and Vivian were by her side, all healed up, no doubt due to a revive. But, more importantly to Calem, she was crying. "You come to make fun of me?" Serena asked, her voice shaking. He didn't question how she knew he was standing there; she was remarkably observant when it came to her surroundings.

Calem sat down next to her, Chester waddling away. "Why on earth would I do that?" he asked softly.

"You saw my battle against Viola," she said. "It was awful. I'm a horrible Trainer." Serena smiled bitterly. "Maybe my mom was right. Maybe I'm not cut out for this."

"Your mom is a huge idiot for thinking you can't do this," Calem said bluntly. "And so are you." Serena looked at him and Calem felt his heart break a little. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. She looked so miserable, all Calem wanted to do was hug her tightly. He pushed that part of him down inside, and focused on making her feel better. "Listen, Serena, you are easily one of the strongest Trainers I have ever met, no question. Every time you and I have battled, you've won."

"You've beat me before," Serena corrected. Calem saw a little brightness return to her eyes.

"Twice," Calem countered. "The first time was when we both got out first Pokemon, Grix and Vivian. And that was only because my dad had given me tips. I got lucky. Same with Grenou and Chester. Luck." For a second, Calem saw her spirits lift, only to fall back down almost instantly.

"But how can I follow my dream, the dream I've had since I was eight, half my life, if I can't even beat the first gym?"

"It was your first official battle," Calem said. "Even Seth Thompson didn't win every gym the first time. Remember that article on him? He lost plenty of gym battles. But he tried again anyways." Calem glanced at her still sullen face and started to sigh, but an idea came to him. "Can I borrow Chester for a second?"

Serena shrugged. "Why not?" she said harshly.

Calem ignored the tone and the pain it caused and released Grenou. "Grenou, just stand there please, no dodgin, deal?" Grenou looked at his Trainer but blinked his eyes. Seeing as how that was as much of an affirmative as he was likely to get, Calem turned to Chester. "Chester, I know you can do this, pal. So, listen up. Use Leech Seed on Grenou, will ya?" Chester tilted his head, looked back at his Trainer and turned back to Calem. His expression hardened into one of determination and he faced Grenou. Chester inhaled deeply and shot out a glowing seed which buried itself into the ground by Grenou.

Chester's shoulders slumped, disappointed. "Wait for it," Calem said. Chester looked up and watched as vines burst out of the ground and wrapped around Grenou. Grenou struggled, but couldn't escape. "See, Chester? Hit Surskit with that, and that way, Surskit can't freeze the field." Chester nodded excitedly.

"Chespin!" he said, waddling over to Serena, pulling on her skirt and pointing to Grenou. The small Pokemon was so proud of himself and wanted his Trainer to see what he could do.

"That's if you expect me to challenge the gym again," Serena said glumly. "You might as well take Chester with you. He'll only get dragged down by me. Same with Vivian."

Calem took of his hat and ran a hand through his head. "Serena, it's late. How about we head to the hotel room, and you can make a decision about trying again tomorrow?" Serena shook her head.

"N-not right now. I don't wanna face the others. I'll catch up." Calem hesitated, unsure on how to proceed, but eventually nodded, returning Grenou and walking off. Serena hugged her knees tighter and sighed. "I'm a failure," she muttered. "I'm no Champion."

"Fletch." Serena looked up to see a Fletchling perched on her knee, a white star marking over its right eye.

"It's you again," she said. The Fletchling cocked its head at her, and chirped, this chirp somehow sounding sad. "Are you worried about me, too?" Serena asked, amazed. The Fletchling nodded and flew over by her bag. It pecked the bag and looked at her expectantly. "What is it?" The Fletchling chirped and flew into Chester's Pokeball which lay on the ground.

Serena's eyes widened as she understood its message. "You want me to catch you? But why? I'm not much of a Trainer…" The bird chirped angrily and pecked her knee, like it was telling her to get a hold of herself. "I'll only hold you back," she insisted. The Fletchling chirped angrily again and flew around in circles above her, chirping the entire time, before landing back on her knee. The look it gave her was withering. "If you insist," Serena sighed, pulling a Pokeball out of her bag. She threw it half-heartedly at the Fletchling, missing. Fletchling flew into it, however, before it hit the ground. The bird was absorbed into the white red light and the ball wobbled on the ground once, twice, three times before chiming. The Fletchling was caught.

"I guess I'll name you Fletcher, if you're so insistent on staying with me," Serena said as she picked up the ball. She wiped her eyes and got up. "Come on, you guys, let's go get some sleep."

"You sure about this, Calem?" Tierno asked. He, Trevor, and Calem were standing in front of the Santalune Gym the next morning, Grenou on Calem's shoulder and Grix by his side.

"Yeah," Calem said. "Serena needs to know she can do this."

"How will this help her?" Trevor asked.

"If I can do something, she can do it ten times better," Calem said, his respect for his friend unwavering and absolute. "Just make sure she's watching." Calem took a deep breath, and Trevor couldn't help but notice that both Grenou and Grix inhaled at the same time as him and had the same determined looks on their faces. Even with a Pokemon he had gotten recently, Calem had a deep bond with his Pokemon, something the ginger-haired boy envied about his taller friend. "Wish me luck," Calem said, a glint in his eye. He flashed a cheeky smile before walking into the gym.

"There are so many ways this can go wrong," Trevor fretted. "What if he loses? That would only make Serena feel worse! Or what if he wins and that still makes her feel bad?"

Tierno put a hand on his friend's shoulder and Trevor looked up to see his friend smiling. "He'll be fine," Tierno said. "Did you see that look in his eye? It was like when Serena first moved into Vaniville Town, back when you lived there, too. Her dad had died and she was miserable; absolutely refused to come out of her room. We tried to make friends with her, but she never left her room, never talked to us. You, Shauna, and I were ready to give up."

"I had almost forgotten about that time," Trevor said quietly.

 _About Six Years Ago, Vaniville Town_

Calem, Trevor, Tierno and Shauna were sitting in Trevor's kitchen, munching on cookies his sister had made for him. "So, about the new girl," Calem said, looking around the table. "We're going to try again, right?"

The other three looked at each other, uneasily. Shauna, who had only recently turned nine, looked to Trevor who looked down at his feet. Shauna turned to Tierno, the oldest of the group, and gave him her biggest puppy dog eyes. The ten-year old sighed and turned to Calem. "We're thinking we should give up," Tierno said quietly.

Calem's eyes shot open and he put his cookie down. "Why? We've only been trying-"

"For the last week, Calem," Shauna said quietly. "Every day for the last week we would go to her house, and try to get her to come out and meet us, and every day it's been a failure."

"But we have to keep trying!" he protested. "If we don't, then how can we ever be friends with her? It's not every day we get a new kid in town!"

"We can still be friends with her, after she's come out of her room on her own," Trevor said. "I just feel like we're not wanted right now."

"She's going through a tough time," Tierno agreed. "You remember what her mom said happened back in Kanto, and then she moves to a new town? That'd be hard for anyone."

"All the more reason for us to help!" Calem said. "She doesn't know anyone here, and she's suffering! We can't just let her suffer alone! That won't help her! She may think that she doesn't need our help, but she does! She's suffering and the best way to help with that is laughter, is friends! We have to be the ones to provide that for her!" Calem looked around the table and huffed when he saw the others look down at their shoes again. He got up out of his seat and headed to the door.

"Calem! Where are you going?" Trevor asked.

"To help a friend." The boy faced the others, a determined and hopeful glint in his eyes, and grinned cheekily. He opened the door, and stepped out into the sleepy town. Moving quickly, he walked towards a house that was very near to his own, separated by just a small road. Calem released Grix from his Pokeball and grabbed the Meowstic's paw. He breathed in deeply and knocked on the door.

Grace Gaines, a tall woman with brown hair and kind eyes, opened the door and smiled sadly down at Calem and Grix. "Here to try again?" she asked. He nodded and she moved out of the doorway, letting Calem and Grix inside. "I don't know how much luck you'll have. She's been coming down even less frequently now; most of her meals are eaten in her room."

Calem smiled and Grace found herself amazed by the look in his eyes. It was like he knew the obstacle in his way was impossible to clear, but didn't care. Somehow, some way, he would find a way around it regardless. "It'll be fine, ma'am," he said respectfully as he headed towards the stairs. "I have a good feeling about today." He walked up the stairs, leaving Grace down by herself.

Grace found herself smiling; the boy's confidence was infectious. She glanced over at a picture of her husband, William, with a laughing Serena on his shoulders. "I hope he's right, William. I really do."

Calem knocked on the door at the end of the upstairs hallway. As usual, no one opened it. "Hi, Serena! It's me, Calem!"

There was no reply for a minute. Then, "You should just stop trying."

Calem frowned and sat down, leaning against the door. "Why? You don't think that I can get you out?"

"I doubt it," Seren said. She sniffled. "Besides, I don't want to, why can't you get that?"

"I know you lost your dad," Calem replied. Serena scoffed.

"So you think that means you understand me?" she asked. "Understand how I feel? Have you ever lost anyone?"

"Not like that, no," the boy said. "My parents are gone most of the time but they're still alive. I haven't felt what you've felt."

"So you're just here to pity me?" she asked. She found herself laughing bitterly.

"Not pity," he said quickly. "You deserve more than that, better than that. I haven't felt what you've felt, but I can imagine." There was a pause before he resumed. "Were you and your dad close?"

"The closest," Serena said quietly. She sat down against the door and hugged her knees tightly. "Do you mean what you said? You're not here to pity me, offer me condolences, say you're sorry?"

"Never. I can imagine what it would be like to lose someone close to you. My dad and I aren't close enough to really have that great of a bond, but my friend Trevor and I…we're like brothers. I've known him since he was born, and I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him…it would really hurt."

"My dad was the one who supported me," Serena said. "My mom, she used to race Rhyhorns in Kanto, where I moved from. She always wanted me to follow in her footsteps. She never told me, but from the moment I could walk, I was practicing Rhyhorn racing. My dad, though, he told me to follow my own dreams. He inspired me to become a Trainer, to become Champion one day."

"He sounds amazing," Calem said. He smiled. "I understand know how you must feel with him gone."

"He would always make me laugh and smile," Serena said wistfully. Her eyes started to fill with tears. "If he was here now, he would do something to make me feel better, I just know it. S-some stupid joke, or maybe h-he would take me out to explore. But he's gone…and he's not coming back." She broke down sobbing and Calem could only listen.

"Maybe I could help," he suggested. "I know lots of stupid jokes, and the best places to explore around here."

"It wouldn't be the same," Serena said. "You should just go. I'm sorry for wasting your time." She got up and walked back to her bed.

Calem stayed where he was, thinking furiously. "You said you wanted to be a Trainer, right? What Pokemon do you have?"

"I-I don't have one. My dad was going to catch me one for my tenth birthday…but he died a few days before."

"Then we'll help you catch one!" Calem said brightly. "There are lots of new Pokemon in Kalos that you've never seen! Like my pal Grix here! He's a Meowstic! Ever seen one before?"

Serena walked back to the door and tilted her head, curious. "No…are they cute?"

"Grix is the cutest!" Calem boasted. "Though, Shauna might argue Veevee is cuter, but everyone's seen Eevees. But you haven't seen a Meowstic! Grix is smart and cute and my best friend! Wanna see him!"

"Sure," the young girl replied. Calem grinned and waited, but the door didn't open.

"You know, you have to open the door if you wanna see Grix," he pointed out cheerfully. "Ooh, unless you can see through doors! Can you? That would be so cool! Wouldn't that be cool, Grix?" Serena giggled and unlocked the door. Calem turned and stepped into the room, smiling at Serena. She looked different than in the pictures. Her normally blue eyes were red and puffy from crying and tears stained her cheeks. Her hair was a bit lighter, and her skin paler, no doubt from the time spent locked up in her room. But, Calem still saw the happy girl in the pictures downstairs and was determined to bring her back.

Serena didn't know what the boy who called himself Calem would look like, but she found him strangely endearing. He had messy dark hair that fell over big grey eyes that sparkled with excitement. His smile was infectious, and she found herself grinning soon, too. His Meowstic, Grix, was just as cute as promised, too. The Pokemon held Calem's hand tightly, like a little child holding onto its father's hand. "So, let's go over Pokemon for you to catch!" Calem said. "Where to start?"

A few minutes later, Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna arrived. The three had debated amongst themselves about what Calem had told them and had decided that he was indeed right. They needed to do something to help out the new girl. She wouldn't get better by herself, or at least not fast enough. They were expecting to find Calem still waiting outside the door. When they found the door open and heard laughter from it, they were shocked.

They peeked into the room to find Calem and Serena floating in the air, held up by Grix's confusion. Calem saw them first and waved hi frantically. "You guys made it! Took you long enough! Come on in and join the fun!" Grix slowly lowered the two kids to the ground. "We were just debating what Pokemon to catch for Serena!" He slapped his forehead. "Stupid! Serena, this is Tierno Joubert, Trevor Proulx, and Shauna Voclain! Guys, this is Serena Gaines! Now, help us find her the perfect partner!"

 _Present Day_

"The next day we went and caught Vivian for Serena," Tierno said. He smiled fondly at the memory. "Since that day, we've been the best of friends, all because Calem went and decided to make her feel better. He was the only one who could." Trevor nodded and smiled slightly.

"If anyone can get Serena out of a funk, he can," the ginger agreed.

"Let's go get the girls," Tierno said. "We don't want to miss the battle."

Serena grumbled as Shauna shook her awake. "What is it, Shauna?" Serena grumbled sleepily. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"I know, I know, but Calem is challenging Viola!" Shauna said excitedly. Serena bolted awake, all thoughts of sleep far from her mind.

"What?" Serena asked. "Calem is doing what?"

"Challenging the Gym!" Shauna chirped happily, Veevee perched on her shoulder, her usual outfit on. "We should go watch!"

"Why on earth would he do that?!" Serena shouted as she hastily changed, throwing on a pair of jeans, a green T-shirt with a small Pokeball logo, and her never changing hat.

"Maybe he wants to fight for your honor?" Shauna guessed, a finger on her cheek. She smiled and clutched her hands over heart. "That is so romantic!"

"Shut it and hurry up!" Serena said, grabbing her bag and running out the room. "We're not missing this!"

"Viola," Calem greeted as he stood on the battlefield, Grenou perched on his shoulder still and Grix by his side. "Good to see you. Huge fan of your work."

Viola beamed. "Really? It's so nice to meet someone who appreciates art and battles! Half the Trainers I get don't understand my photos at all!"

"But they're so perfect!" Calem protested, pulling out a notebook and flipping to a page. "See? I drew this after being inspired by your 'Evolution of Heart' series." Viola took the book and gasped. The page was a drawing of a Caterpie slowly turning into a Butterfree.

"This is wonderful!" Viola said, handing back the book. She then squealed. "Oh my Arceus! Look at you and your Pokemon! It's just too cute! I need to take a picture, please?" Calem shrugged and Viola lifted up her camera and snapped a couple of shots. "This is too perfect! Thank you so much!"

"Right," Calem said. He paused, hearing a door open from above him and the sound of footsteps. His friends were here. "So, let's get this battle started, shall we?"

Viola grinned and threw a Pokeball up into the air. "Go, Surskit!"

"Grix, you're up!" Calem shouted. Grix nodded and leaped onto the field, staring down Surskit. "Let's start things off with a bang! Grix, Shadow Ball!" Grix formed the ball of dark, crackling energy and threw it at the Surskit.

"Surskit! Ice the field!" Viola ordered. Surskit nodded and leapt up into the air, and a ball of cold energy formed at the tip of its antenna.

"Don't let it, Grix!" Calem ordered. "Psybeam!" Grix's ears unfolded and his eyes shone a bright pink color before blasting out a powerful pink and purple beam which collided with Surskit, interrupting its attack. "Grix! Hit it Shadow Ball!" Another ball of dark energy was fired at the falling Surskit.

"Surskit! Aqua Jet!" Viola shouted. Water covered the Pokemon and it blasted off, dodging the Shadow Ball and plowing into Grix. "Now, Signal Beam!"

"Grix, Light Screen!" Calem ordered. A golden shield of hexagons formed in front of Grix, taking the attack. Grix still flinched as some damage got through, but as the shield faded, he stood relatively unharmed.

"Why is he doing this?" Serena asked as she watched the battle. "He was never interested in gym battles."

"Who knows," Tierno shrugged. "But let's just watch and enjoy the battle. I'm sure it'll be great." Serena nodded and turned back to the battle, watching Grix as he danced away from another Aqua Jet.

 _Please win, Calem_ , she thought. _Do it._

Calem glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Serena watching and smiled inwardly. _No more holding back_ , he thought. "Grix! Use Cut when Surskit gets in range." Grix nodded and his right paw began to glow a white color. Surskit jetted back towards Grix, who simply stood ready and waiting. As the Water Strider Pokemon got closer Grix leaped at it and slashed down, dispersing the water and knocking Surskit back. "Now, Grix! Shadow Ball!"

"Signal Beam, Surskit!" Viola shouted. "Counter it!" Surskit landed on its feet and blasted the multi-color energy straight at the ball of dark energy. The explosion kicked up dust from the battlefield, and for a moment, neither side could see each other.

A moment was all Calem needed. "Psybeam!" he shouted. Viola looked around, glancing up to see Grix, leaping into the air, eyes glowing.

"Surskit!" Viola warned, but too late. Grix blasted off a Psybeam, which made direct contact with Surskit, knocking it out of the battle.

"Surskit is unable to battle!" the attendant cried. "This round goes to Calem!"

Viola smiled as she returned Surskit, only to watch as Grix leapt back by his Trainer's side. She furrowed her brow in concentration, then smiled. "You don't think Grix can take on Vivillon?" she asked as she released the Pokemon.

"Your Vivillon is fast," Calem said, letting Grenou leap onto the battle, a stoic and determined expression on the Froakie's face, "but Grenou is faster." Viola smiled.

"We'll see about that," she said. "Ready?" Calem nodded. "Good! Vivillon, Silver Wind!" A gust of wind laced with silver blasted into Grenou, stopped by a shield of golden hexagons appearing from nowhere.

"Light Screen affects my whole party," Calem said, grinning. "Grenou, Quick Attack!" Grenou nodded and blasted off, leaping towards Vivillon.

"Evade him!" Viola ordered. Vivillon nodded and flew faster, dodging Grenou's many Quick Attacks. "Looks like he's not fast enough for Vivillon," Viola said.

Calem frowned. "Keep it up, Grenou! I know you can hit it! Go!" Grenou frowned with concentration and before his Trainer's amazed eyes, white blades of light grew over his hands and white streamers surrounded him. Grenou blasted off towards Vivillon, moving faster, and even as Vivillon dodged, Grenou turned in midair and…connected. With a flurry of strikes, Grenou hit Vivillon before returning to the ground, blades disappearing and his usual stoic expression returning.

Viola blinked. Her Vivillon barely kept itself afloat. Serena, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor stared agape at Grenou, while Calem could still scarcely believe what he had seen.

"That was-" Trevor began.

"Aerial Ace," Calem said quietly. His face was split with a huge grin. "Oh man! Grenou, why didn't you tell me you could do this? You're the freaking best!"

Grenou looked at his Trainer and blinked. _You never asked, and of course I am_ , he seemed to convey. Calem grinned and turned back to the battle. "Okay, Grenou! Let's wrap this up and quick! Double Water Pulse!" Grenou nodded and two spheres of blue water formed, one in each hand. He leapt up and threw them both, incredibly hard, at Vivillon.

"Vivillon, dodge them, then use Psychic!" Viola ordered. Vivillon, still weak but fast enough to dodge, weaved around the attacks before unleashing a wave of psychic energy at Grenou. The blast caught him and tossed him back, only for Grenou to vanish with a puff of smoke when he hit the ground. Viola gasped. "Substitute!" She glanced up. "Vivillon, above you!"

"Aerial Ace, Grenou!" Calem shouted. "Finish it!" Grenou, the blades appearing once more, rushed down at Vivillon, who released a Silver Wind at the exact same moment. The wind blasted Grenou, but Grenou grimaced and powered through the attack, rushing past and striking Vivillon. Grenou landed on the ground as Vivillon fainted.

Serena stared in amazement as Vivillon hit the ground. Calem, who had she beaten every time except for two times, had won without losing a single Pokemon. He had powered through and adapted. "Maybe I can, too," Serena muttered. "Maybe…"

"Vivillon is unable to battle!" the attendant cried. "Which means, Calem is the winner of the battle!"

Viola returned Vivillon and turned to see Grenou hop up onto Calem's shoulder. She smiled and walked over. "Good job," she said, pulling an object out of her pocket. It was designed like a beetle in a light brown color with green gems for eyes. "It's the Bug Badge. You've earned it."

Calem smiled and pinned it on to the inside of his jacket collar. "Thanks," he said. "That was a good battle."

Viola laughed. "I'm shocked at how powerful your little Froakie is."

"To be honest, I had no clue Grenou knew Aerial Ace," he admitted sheepishly. "But, hey, don't look a gift Rapidash in the mouth."

"Calem!" Serena shouted running onto the battlefield, the others trailing behind. Viola, sensing that this was something she should avoid, stepped back.

"Hey, Seren-" Calem grunted as Serena plowed into him, hugging him briefly. She then released him and punched him on the shoulder.

"What was that all about?" she demanded. "You were never interested in challenging the gyms!"

"True," he said. He smiled. "But, I am interested in getting you to perk up. You looked so down after you lost I figured I would find some way to cheer you up. This was the best way. And it totally worked! You hugged me! You never hug me when you're angry! In fact, you barely hug me when you're happy!"

Serena scowled. "Don't you dare think of giving me that Badge!" she shouted. "I have to earn it myself."

Calem grinned and raised an eyebrow. "So now you want to try again, huh?" Serena stammered and Calem put a hand on her shoulder, silencing her. "Listen, okay? You are the best Trainer I have ever seen, alright? Un jour, tu seras le champion. I believe in you and I just wanted you to know that you could win this battle. I thought, seeing as how you were so much better than me, that if you saw me win, you would realize that if someone like me could win, so could you."

Serena smiled. "That's sweet," she said. She punched him again. "You idiot. Why didn't you just tell me that last night?"

"Didn't think of it until later," Calem said, shrugging. "Besides, this was fun and dramatic."

"So, Serena," Viola said from behind Calem, "are you willing to try again?"

Serena glanced at her friends and then at the new Pokeball in her bag. She nodded. "I am. Let's go."

Viola smiled. "Give me a few minutes, and then we'll start, alright? I can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve."

Calem squeezed her shoulder and followed the others back towards the balcony. "Go get her, Gagnant."

 **A/N: Gagnant is French for winner if anyone was curious. And what Calem said was "One day, you'll be the Champion. Anyways, hope everyone liked it and please leave a review! I like reading them and learning what you liked and what could be worked on. Please, though, no flames. Constructive criticism is really the only kind of criticism worth reading. Thank you all for reading! Please stay tuned!**


	6. Proving Time

**A/N: Once again, thank you all for continuing to read this. Judging by the fact that there are still plenty of readers, I guess I'm not doing too bad! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy again!**

 **Chapter 6: Proving Time**

Serena breathed in slowly. Viola had been gone for five minutes, tending to her Pokemon, leaving Serena alone to think, calm down, and breathe. Her right hand tapped her thigh impatiently, causing Chester to glance up at her every now and then to make sure his Trainer was fine.

"Ches?" he asked. Serena forced a smile on her face and feigned confidence.

"I'm fine, Chester. Just a bit nervous, that's all." Chester considered that for a second before nodding blithely and turning back to the battlefield. The little Grass-type yawned and stretched his arms and Serena found herself smiling for real at his disinterest. Chester was so calm and unworried about everything. For all Serena knew, if a Voltorb blew up in front of him, the Chespin would probably still not worry.

The sound of a door opening broke her out of her reverie and Serena immediately focused on the far side of the battlefield. "Sorry about the wait," Viola said, her Vivillon floating alongside her. "Your friend's Froakie did a number on my Vivillon. So, are you ready to battle?"

Serena clenched her right fist, forcing her arm to stop shaking. "Let's go," she said.

The Gym Leader grinned. "All right! Surskit, take to the field!" The Pond Skater Pokemon landed on the field as graceful as ever. Serena frowned.

"Chester, you're up!" Chester nodded happily and waddled onto the battlefield, adopting his battle stance.

"The Gym battle between Viola of Santalune City and Serena of Vaniville Town will now commence!" the announcer yelled. "Trainers, begin!"

"Chester, Leech Seed!" Serena commanded as Viola yelled, "Surskit, Ice Beam on Chespin!" Chester spit out a glowing green seed as Surskit blasted off a blue-white beam. The beam blasted Chester back, and he bounced off the ground a couple of times before slowly staggering back to his feet.

The seed, meanwhile, hit the ground by Surskit's feet and before the Bug Pokemon could react, vines burst from the ground and wrapped around Surskit, limiting its movement.

Calem smiled from the balcony. "She was paying attention last night," he murmured. "Way to adapt, Serena."

The vines attached to Surskit glowed green and bubbles of light floated over from Surskit to Chester. Chester happily absorbed them, some of his injuries healing up. "Now, Chester! Rollout!" The Spiny Nut Pokemon jumped forward, rolling into a ball. Surskit struggled to free itself, only to get plowed into by Chester. The vines ripped as Surskit flew back, but some remained wrapped around Surskit.

"Surskit, Signal Beam!" Viola ordered. "Hit Chespin where it hurts!"

"Don't let up, Chester! Keep up with Rollout!" Serena cried. The Grass Pokemon whirled around while still curled up and sped off towards Surskit. The rainbow colored Signal Beam hit Chester hard, but Chester barely faltered before plowing into Surskit again. Mid-air, Leech Seed healed Chester and damaged Surskit, weakening the Pond Strider Pokemon even more. "Once more, Chester! Rollout!"

"Surskit, Signal Beam! Full force!" Chester circled back and plowed into the stronger, thicker beam of light Surskit blasted at it. Chester cried out but kept rolling, plowing right through the beam before hitting a shocked Surskit. The Pokemon flew into the wall before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Way to go, Chester!" Serena cried happily. Chester wobbled for a second before smiling and hugging his Trainer.

"Chespin!" he cried. "Pin!" Serena grinned.

"You have earned extra Pokepuffs for tonight!" she said. "Think you can handle another one?" Chester nodded enthusiastically and ran back onto the battlefield.

Viola watched all this with a smile as she returned her Surskit. Her Vivillon floated onto the battlefield and Viola followed close behind. "I've got to hand it to you, Serena, your use of Leech Seed there was amazing. Not only that, but you're Chespin was determined like nothing else to win. I admire that in both Trainers and Pokemon. But, can your Chespin handle Vivillon?"

"Let's find out! Chester, Leech Seed and then Rollout!" A glowing green seed flew towards Vivillon while Chester rolled up into a ball and plowed towards the Scale Pokemon. Hitting a rock, Chester launched himself, close behind his Leech Seed attack.

"Vivillon, dodge the Leech Seed and then respond with Silver Wind!" Vivillon ducked under and around the seed, causing it to hit the wall uselessly. Then, with a flap of its wings, Vivillon sent out gust of silver-scale carrying wind blasting into Chester. The Chespin was thrown back and hit the ground hard.

"Chester!"

"Psychic!" Viola ordered. The wave of energy caught Chester and Vivillon lifted him up into the air before blasting him off into the wall. Chester hit the ground unconscious.

Shauna grimaced as Serena returned Chester. "This battle is just going to play out like last time," she lamented. "Chester didn't even manage to damage Vivillon, and with Acrobatics, Vivian doesn't stand a chance!"

Trevor gulped. His palms were getting sweaty and he hastily brushed them against his pants. If Calem's plan had been for naught, if Serena lost, then they would be in an even worse situation. Serena might not ever snap out of her funk. "I was worried that this was a bad idea," he said. "She can't lose again!"

"She's not going to," Tierno said. Trevor and Shauna turned to their bigger friend who was smiling. "Look at Serena. She doesn't look worried, does she?" Trevor glanced at Serena; Tierno was right. Instead of a downcast or anxious look, Trevor saw a small smile playing on Serena's mouth. "She's got something up her sleeve, an ace in the hole. I've seen dancers do it before during a competition; turning a mistake into something amazing."

"Tierno's right," Calem said. He was leaning against the rail, smiling. "Seri's got something up her sleeve. Let's wait and see what."

Serena grabbed a Pokemon ball and smiled at Viola. "I was hoping to win using only Chester, but I guess you forced my hand. So, making his debut on my team, Fletcher, take off!" She threw the ball up into the air, and it burst open, releasing a Fletchling. The Fletchling chirped happily and flew above Serena's head in circles.

Calem gasped as he caught a flash of white. It was the same Fletchling from the Forest. "Serena must have caught him last night," he said. His grin grew. "Go get her, Serena!"

Serena turned to the balcony and smiled at her friends. "You can do this, Seri!" Shauna yelled.

"Show off your sweet moves!" Tierno shouted, flashing her a thumbs-up.

"Y-you got this!" Trevor shouted, surprising himself.

Serena turned back to Viola, her grin even larger. "You heard them, Fletcher. If they believe we can do this, then there's no way we can lose! I'm ready when you are, Viola!"

The photographer grinned. "Let's have a battle I'll never forget! Vivillon, Psychic!" Vivillon flapped its wings, releasing waves of psychic energy towards Fletcher. Fletcher, however, was faster than the waves; he flew around them, circling them as if to mock Vivillon.

"Quick Attack!" Serena shouted. Fletchling chirped happily before speeding off, becoming a blur through the air. Vivillon whirled around, only to get struck in the thorax by Fletcher. His Trainer smiled. "Again!"

"Vivillon, Silver Wind the field!" Vivillon's wings began to glow and with a powerful flap, a virtual hurricane of silvery wind rushed out. The wind caught Fletcher and flung him back. "Acrobatics!"

"Double Team!" Serena ordered. Fletcher glowed white and multiple Fletchers spread across the field, each chirping mischievously. The one Vivillon hit vanished with a puff of light, leaving lots of others behind.

"Vivillon, Silver Wind again!" Another gale of chrome wind was released and majority of the Fletchers were caught and destroyed. Before long, only the real Fletcher was left and before he could do anything, the Scale Pokemon used Acrobatics and plowed into him. With each hit, he was flung, and when Vivillon was finished, it was clear he had taken a lot of damage.

"Fletcher!" Serena cried. "Don't give up! Acrobatics!" Fletcher nodded and flew up, before diving down towards Vivillon, after-images appearing behind him.

"Vivillon, you too!" Viola shouted. "Acrobatics!" The two Pokemon rushed into rushed, and began to climb into the air, weaving around and plowing into each other repeatedly.

Tierno, Calem, Shauna, and Trevor watched the display with awe. "It's like they're dancing in the air," Tierno said. His eyes tracked the two Pokemon as they whirled in the air. "It's beautiful."

"Come on, Fletcher!" Calem shouted. "Show Vivillon what you can do!"

Serena grit her teeth. The two Pokemon had ended their attack and were now floating by their Trainers. Both had taken a lot of damage, and the next attack could easily end the battle. "Fletcher, you okay?" The Tiny Robin Pokemon chirped, as if to say "Of course". Serena nodded. "Alright, then. Time to wrap this up! Once more, Fletcher, Acrobatics!"

"Take him out, Vivillon! Acrobatics!" The two Pokemon rushed towards each other and once more began their dance. Fletcher would strike Vivillon while Vivillon would strike Fletcher on the same pass, before they whirled around and began again. Serena watched the two closely, and waited for the right moment.

It came when Fletcher hit Vivillon while heading up. Fletcher was above Vivillon, and Vivillon had yet to turn around. "Now, Fletcher! Here's our chance! RAZOR WIND!" Fletcher chirped and spun around quickly. His wings glowed white and with a powerful flap, two white, crescent-shaped blades of energy burst out. They combined into a X-shape and hit Vivillon square in the back, knocking the wind out of the Pokemon. "Before it can recover! Quick Attack!" Fletcher flew up before diving down at breakneck speed. Vivillon turned around but was too slow to stop the attack. Fletcher rushed into Vivillon and the two crashed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Fletcher flew out of the cloud, tweeting happily. Serena laughed as he landed on her shoulder and she had to resist the urge to do a little dance. Shauna shrieked with joy from the balcony while Tierno and Trevor ran for the stairs. Calem smiled slightly and pumped his arm.

Viola returned her defeated Vivillon and walked to Serena who was busy with a hug her friends had insisted upon. "Well done, Miss Gaines," Viola said. The four others had moved away, letting Serena face the smiling Viola. "You have earned the Bug Badge. Well done using that Fletchling. I assume you only caught it recently?"

Serena scratched Fletcher's chin and he tweeted happily. "Last night, yeah. He seemed to like me." She extended her other hand to Viola. "Thank you, for both the battle and the compliment." Viola laughed and accepted the hand. The two shook before Viola gave the other girl the Bug Badge.

"I assume you all will be heading out soon?" she asked.

The five friends looked around and shrugged. "I dunno," Calem said. "There's still a couple of things I wanna check out."

"There is the park Calem told me about," Trevor said. "I heard there are Litleos nearby, too. I need to scan them for my Pokedex."

"It wouldn't hurt to stay one more night," Shauna said. She smiled. "Professor Sycamore can wait a little longer, can't he?"

Serena shrugged. "I guess we'll be staying an extra night then!"

Viola grinned. "Then allow me to treat you all for dinner tonight! It's been awhile since I've had such amazing battles! It'd be my honor to have you for dinner!"

Calem grinned. "I would never turn down a meal, especially from a Gym Leader."

"We'd be honored," Trevor said. He bowed his head. "Thank you."

"Be back here by six!" Viola said as she walked to the back of the gym. "It'll be amazing, trust me!"

The five friends left the gym and went back to a nearby cafe. They grabbed some lunch while talking about the battles. Shauna gushed over how cute and strong Fletcher was, while Trevor stared at the small Pokemon intently, trying to discover what made it so strong. After lunch they went their separate ways. Trevor hurried off to the nearby Route 22, determined to record every last Pokemon. Serena followed him, hoping to find someone to battle. Tierno decided to accompany Shauna into the park, figuring he could practice his dance moves with Corphish and Charmander while Shauna looked for new Pokemon.

Calem found himself sitting in a tree on a hill, with a good portion of Santalune stretched out before him. Grenou sat on his shoulder while Grix sat next to him. Calem even decided to release Colux, who floated nearby. The teen ignored Colux's indifference, though, and took out his sketchbook. He began to draw, his pencil moving slowly but deliberately.

A couple of hours later, Calem nearly fell out of the tree when someone yelled up, "What are you drawing?" He looked around wildly before his eyes fell upon a smiling Viola. She climbed up the tree, moving quickly and gracefully, before sitting on a nearby branch.

"The city," he replied. He passed her the book and she whistled, impressed. She flipped through a few more pages before handing the book back.

"They're pretty good, Calem," she said. "How long have you been drawing?"

"Since I was seven or eight," he said, continuing his sketch of the city. "It's become a hobby of mine. I figured, since I'm doing all this traveling, I might as well get a few sketches in. A drawing of each city I visit."

"Good goal," Viola said.

"Thanks," Calem said, shrugging. He turned to her. "How come you're here, anyways?"

Viola smiled. "It's almost time for you to meet back at the gym for my dinner, hosted in both yours and Serena's honor."

Calem frowned and looked at his watch. It was indeed nearly six. "I guess I got distracted." He followed Viola down, and caught Grix when the Meowstic jumped down from the tree. "I tend to lose track of time when I draw."

"Why did you get into it?" Viola asked as the two walked back to the gym.

"My parents enrolled me in art classes so I could have something to do in the morning that didn't involve waking them up at inopportune times," he said, smiling. "Eventually, I grew to like it. What made you get into photography?"

"My sister," Viola said. "Alexa is a journalist and worked for her school's newspaper when she was young. She would make me go with her to take pictures, even bought me a camera for the job. Eventually I started to like it." Viola smiled. "I guess you and I have a few similarities, huh?"

"Just the one so far," Calem said. "But, the night is young yet. Who knows what it'll bring?" The two walked into the gym a few minutes later, still chatting, and joined the others for dinner.

Serena ignored the fact that Viola and Calem seemed to get along great. She also chose to ignore the looks Shauna shot her, and her own discomfort at seeing them laugh at each other's jokes. Instead, she focused on Trevor's new Litleo and on telling Tierno about all the cool moves she saw while training.

The dinner was delicious, and the five teens returned to their hotel stuffed and sleepy. Viola had made them all promise to come visit her if they were ever in the area. She had also told Calem something that made him smile, but Serena didn't know what. Nor did she care. Calem was his own person; he could do whatever he wanted.

Serena fell asleep exhausted but elated. Sure, yesterday had hardly gone according to plan, but she had more than made up for it today. _My first badge,_ she thought happily as sleep slowly came upon her. _My first step to becoming Champion. Nothing can stop me now… nothing._

 **A/N: Sorry about the late submission. Senior year is sort of distracting and attention consuming. But still, hope everyone liked it. Reviews are hugely appreciated! Sorry about the ending, but I didn't quite know how to end this chapter well.**


	7. Sycamore

**Chapter 7: Sycamore**

Trevor took a deep breath as he stepped from the gate and into Lumiose City. A taxi rushed by, nearly running him over, and he could hear someone arguing not too far away from him. "Home sweet home," he muttered.

Calem stepped up next to him and whistled. "Okay, these buildings are massive!" He tilted his head back, peering up. "I can't even see the top of that one!"

"Stop lying," Serena said. "You totally can. It's only four stories." She turned to Trevor. "So, which way is the lab?"

Trevor was about to respond when Shauna shrieked. "Oh my Arceus! You guys, its the Prism Tower!" Shauna ran up and grabbed Trevor's arm, looking up at him with big, puppy dog eyes. "Come on, Trevor! We have to go see it! Let's go!"

"I wouldn't mind checking it out myself," Tierno admitted. "I've never been."

Trevor smiled sheepishly, doing his best to ignore the blush on his face and the fact that Shauna was pressed up against him giving him that look. "I would love to take you guys there, but it's closed. The entire north side of the city has recently lost power, and so the gym leader, Clemont, shut down the Prism Tower while he tries to figure out what happened."

Serena slumped. "SERIOUSLY? I wanted to challenge Clemont now, and the city just decides to lose power?!" Calem cracked a smile.

"I highly doubt that the city is sentient and is out to get you, Serena," he pointed out. "'Sides, we'll probably end up coming back here and when we do, I'm sure the power will be back and you can challenge Clemont then." He patted her on the back and flashed her a smile. "Let's just go meet with the Prof. Everything will work out!"

"R-right!" Trevor said, untangling himself from Shauna. "Sycamore's lab is this way! I'll, uh, I'll take lead. Follow me." Trevor set off, walking quickly while Shauna ran after him, still pleading for him to take her somewhere fun.

The rest followed after them dutifully. Calem, Serena, and Tierno marveled at the tall buildings and the life in the city. Everywhere they walked, they could hear people talking, laughing, yelling. Life surrounded them; even in the middle of a crowded city, with taxis and other cars blaring by, people still battled in the alleyways. Trevor watched Calem pull Serena away from a particularly intense battle. Shauna flitted about him as he walked, constantly cooing and begging Trevor to take her. "Come on, Trev!" she said. "How many times will we be in Lumiose? How many opportunities will we get to do this?"

"A lot?" he suggested weakly. "Shauna, I do live here. You can come visit whenever and then I'll take you to visit all the neat little cafes. But for now, we should go visit the Professor. He'll be waiting for us anyways." Shauna sighed but reluctantly followed after Trevor…. For about five minutes. Then she saw a Furfrou with its fur styled up and nearly got killed running across the street to talk to the owner. Trevor himself nearly had a heart attack. The girl was way too energetic, way too impulsive. She was going to get hurt.

"And yet, I can't live without her," he muttered quietly. Not that she, or anyone else for that matter, could ever know that. Dealing with his crush was hard enough when only he knew about it but if other people did too...his cheeks got warm just thinking about it. _Keep it together_ , he thought desperately as the brown haired girl of his affections bounced back to him, dodging a Gogoat taxi with ease.

"Okay! I'm all good now!" she chirped. "Let's keep going! Besides, that place only styles Furfrous even though Veevee is so much cuter!" The two of them continued walking, the other three still trailing behind.

"Ah, yeah my sister had m-mentioned something about people styling Furfrous nowadays," Trevor said, stammering when his hand brushed Shauna's. "I never fully got the point."

"Because it's cute!" Shauna said. "I mean, people can tell your Pokemon is tough from battling it. But the cute, that takes effort and dedication. You have to work to get your Pokemon looking that good, then you have to make sure it stays looking that good after battle, too." Shauna shrugged. "It's tough work, but the world needs more cute and beautiful things, so it's worth it to me."

Trevor blinked and looked at Shauna. That… that hadn't sounded like her usual self. She had sounded wistful and contemplative….and caused Trevor's heart to beat rapidly. He shook his head and nodded carefully. "You're probably right," he said, a small smile on his face. "The world can always use more cuteness."

Shauna smiled. "Thank you, Trevor," she said. Then she cooed. "Aw! Look at that Espurr!"

Calem watched Shauna and Trevor take the lead, walking side-by-side with each other and talking. _Well,_ Calem corrected himself, _Shauna talking._ The two of them looked cute together and definitely got along well….as weird as that thought was to Calem. He should….Calem shook his head, chuckling silently to himself. No, he shouldn't. That would be overstepping his bounds. Plus, it would be a very Shauna thing to do.

"Where is the Prof's lab, anyways?" Tierno asked, shaking Calem out of his thoughts. The slimmer boy shrugged.

"Tierno, this is my first time here," Calem laughed. "I've got no clue." The dancer nodded solemnly and continued to watch the city.

"This is a pretty big place," he said. "Lots of people….lot of energy. Makes me wanna move, you know?"

"Definitely makes Vaniville feel like the sleepy backwater town it is," Calem admitted. "I thought Santalune was big but this….this is something else, ya know?"

Tierno spotted something and a huge smile split his face. "Calem! They have a dance studio here! Oh my god that would be amazing! I could learn so much about dance battling…." Tierno's voice trailed off and he started moving with a rhythm, a low hum coming from his face as he moved to a beat only he could hear.

"Or you could teach them?" Calem suggested. Tierno nodded absently, focused completely on his movements. Calem walked a little away from the boy; once Tierno got like that, it was hard to get him out of it. He was a lot like Serena in that way.

Speaking of her, where the hell did Serena go? The blond girl had been right by him and Tierno earlier and had apparently just ran off. But how didn't he notice?

"Trevor wasn't lying," Serena said from next to him. Calem shrieked and nearly tripped over his feet. He whirled to his right where Serena was walking, the sleeping Chester in her arms.

"Serena?" Calem asked once his heartbeat settled and he no longer wanted to strangle her. "What are you talking about?"

Serena gave him a weird look. "The gym, of course," she said simply. "I ran all the way to Lumiose Tower and it really is close. Entrance is completely barred and from what I could see the north side of the city is pretty shut down too." She sighed dejectedly. "I was really looking forward to battling Clemont, too. I've heard he's one of the tougher gym leaders and he uses electric Pokemon. It would've been such a fun battle."

"That would've ended with you getting smoked," Calem pointed out. Serena glared at him and Calem raised his hands. "I'm just saying that two of your three Pokemon are part flying, weak to electric attacks. One hit on Vivian or Fletcher and they're out."

Serena raised an eyebrow. "But Chester is resistant to electric attacks."

"You mean to say that you would go and take on a gym with essentially one Pokemon...and you expect to win?" Calem started to laugh but then he remembered who he was talking to. Serena would do that. And probably, somehow, against literally every odd, win. "Never mind. You would….doesn't mean I like your chances but you would do that because you're insane."

"In the best way possible," she said, smiling. She tilted her head as Shauna and Trevor came to a stop. "Looks like we're here." The two of them caught up to their two friends while Tierno made his way, slowly coming out of his reverie. The five friends looked up at the building. It was an older looking building than the steel skyscrapers that littered the skyline, with simple yellow-ish bricks and gorgeous tall windows. Two pillars with giant Pokeballs were in front of the entrance and the old thing gave off a sort of regal air.

"Welcome to Professor Sycamore's lab," Trevor said, a note of awe in his voice. "So uh, we should head in, yes?"

"You're the one the Prof instructed to lead us here, Trev," Calem said. "What do you think?'

Before the young ginger could answer the doors opened and two figures in white stepped out. Both were in their twenties and snappily dressed, one boy and one girl. The girl was slightly taller than the boy, with dark skin and purple hair, her white top and skirt accented with gold lines at the edges a red bandana (cravat? Calem wasn't quite sure….he decided on cravat). The boy was wearing a white shirt and dress pants in a similar style, with a blue cravat. He was blonde and both looked very well put together. The two stopped and looked at the group of teens before them.

"Well, looks like we don't need to go to Aquacorde after all," the girl said, a light Kalosian accent touching her voice. "The Professor was worried for nothing."

"Indeed," the boy said. "Welcome! You all must be the teens the Professor sent for!"

"We are," Serena said, stepping in front of the others. "And you are?"

The boy flashed a grin. "I'm Dexio Leclerc!"

"And I," the girl said, taking a bow, "am Sina Palomer. It is very nice to meet all of you. And you are?"

"I'm Serena Gaines," Serena said. She then introduced the others. "That's Shauna Voclain, Tierno Joubert, Calem Albright, and Trevor Proulx. So, um….who exactly are you two?"

"We're the assistants to Professor Sycamore," Dexio said. "He was about to send us out to fetch you but now that you're here, we can begin! So, if you would please follow us, we'll take you to the Professor." With a flourish, the blond man turned around and strode back into the building, followed by Sina. The five teens, left with no choice, hustled after them and rode the elevator up in silence, sharing looks.

"Trev," Calem whispered, "you've never met these guys?"

Trevor shook his head. "Never. But I mean, I haven't interacted with Sycamore all that often… I think it was mainly because he knew my parents and of yours that he chose us five."

Calem nodded and watched the two assistants closely. The elevator dinged and the group stepped into Sycamore's office. The two assistants led them around the corner and then waited by the sides of a tall man in a white labcoat.

The man turned around and smiled. "Ah!Très bien! Merci, Dexio, Sina." The two assistants bowed and then walked off. The man waited until they were gone and then clasped his hands together. "I'm so glad you could all make it! As you all know, I'm Augustine Sycamore! Trevor, I know but the rest of you….hmm, let me see if I can get this right." The Professor narrowed his eyes and examined the group closely. He pointed at Calem. "Calem Albright, oui? You remind me of your mother, quite a bit I must say. Which means you're Tierno….and," he pointed at Serena, "you must be Grace's daughter, Serena, which means that you are Shauna!" He laughed. "I must have been parfait if none of you corrected me."

"Spot on, Professor," Trevor said. "Now, um, now that we're here, what did you wish to speak to us about?"

Sycamore cocked his head and then smiled. "Oh! Yes, I nearly forgot! Well, you see, there's no real end goal of mine." He sat down in his chair, folding his hands together. "You see, the Dex is obviously already completed. We've gathered data on most every Pokemon, barring a few."

"If I may, Professor," Trevor interjected, "but if you don't have every Pokemon then how can you say the Pokedex is completed?" Sycamore raised an eyebrow but smiled.

"Well put, Trevor. Well, the ones we don't have are considered… let's call them mythical. Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde are the three main ones we're missing. The Life, Destruction, and Order Pokemon. Of course, no one knows for sure if they exist at all. And asking you five to hunt them down is downright ludicrous!" The Professor laughed.

"So, what then?" Calem asked. He pulled out the Pokedex. "Why give us this?"

"To make your journey as fun as possible of course!" Sycamore said. "When I was younger me and two of my best friends went on a journey with our Pokedexes. Sure, we didn't do a whole lot of research but it was marvelous and the Dexes help so much with making the adventure even more fun. And, well, they'll still record data. This way I can still gather more data points for my research. Though we have data on the Pokemon the more we can get the better."

Serena shrugged. "As long as I can challenge the gyms, I'm happy."

Sycamore laughed. "You remind me of my old friend back when we journeyed, Serena." He cleared his throat and stood up. "Anyways! I have rooms upstairs prepared for the five of you. And before you say anything, please, it's an honor. Besides, I realized I still have some updates to give your Pokedexes and well….it'll take me a while." He chuckled awkwardly. "I'll have Dexio and Sina lead you to them and then please, make yourself comfortable for the night and feel free to explore the city!"

Dexio appeared, almost as if on command, and led the group up to their rooms. The girls had one while the boys shared a suite. They collapsed onto the beds and sighed. "That was unexpected," Calem admitted. "The Prof is something. I didn't know he had went on a journey, too."

"Me neither," Trevor said. He pulled out his Pokedex, and started typing at it then sighed in frustration.

"What's wrong, Trev?" Tierno asked, gathering his Pokeballs into his bag.

"The Professor is right," he said. "There's little data on Xerneas and Yveltal. From what I can see there's just a bit of information about them, most of is apocryphal." He groaned and fell back onto to the bed. "How can I expect to complete the Pokedex if three of the Pokemon are so hard to find they're legends?"

"No one is expecting you to be able to find every single Pokemon ever," Calem said, laughing. He sat down next to the boy and stretched. "If Sycamore can't do it, then he doesn't expect you to...though you would seem pretty awesome if you could find them all." Calem rubbed his chin. "Maybe we'll make that another goal of this journey. After all, Serena is going to be having us go all over the place, so why not look for them on the way? It'll be fun." Calem looked up as the door opened. "Tierno? Where are you going?"

"The dance studio I saw!" he said happily. "I've gotta go and see if they've got any moves they can teach me! Maybe a battle or two? Who knows!" With that the larger kid got up and walked off, whistling cheerfully.

Calem shrugged and got up. "Well, Trev, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Wanna go get some grub?"

The smaller boy looked up and nodded. "There's a place not too far away….Cafe Soleil I think it's called? We should go there."

The door opened and Shauna burst in, dragging Serena behind her. "I heard mention of food? Let's go! Come on!"

A few minutes later the four friends sat around a table, finishing their drinks and chatting. Calem then decided to broach the subject of Trevor's research into Xerneas and Yveltal.

"You wanna look for legendary, possibly completely mythical Pokemon?" Serena asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Why?"

Trevor blushed and stammered for a moment. "T-t-to gather their data for Professor Sycamore. No one has ever managed to get complete data on them and I figured if I could find them and get their data for the Pokedex it would make Sycamore happy and proud." He looked down, his blush deepening.

"Why not?" Serena laughed. "Besides if we can find this Xernya and Yveltol then maybe we could battle them, too….wouldn't that be the fight of the century."

"It's Xerneas and Yveltal, miss," a voice said from the side. The group turned to see a man stand up from his table nearby and walk over to them. He wore a dark suit with orange accents that matched his fiery hair. "And it would indeed be quite the battle, wouldn't it?"

"Um, thank you," Serena said, watching the man carefully. His presence was stifling; a commanding and unrelenting aura about him. "But if I may ask, who are you precisely?"

"I am Lysandre Guillory," the man said. "I apologize for interrupting your conversation so abruptly, but I was curious. Are you four of the five Trainers Sycamore selected?"

"You know about us?" Shauna asked. Calem narrowed his eyes and noticed Serena did the same. Something was off about the man. The fact that he only came over at the mention of the two legendaries wasn't odd per se but something about it set off every alarm bell in Calem.

"Sycamore and I are old friends," Lysandre said, clasping his hands behind his back."He often tells me about his endeavors and you four are no exception...but tell me, what sparked your interest in the Life Pokemon and the Destruction Pokemon?"

"Just trying to do something to help the Prof's research," Calem said quickly. The man met his eyes. Calem fought against the urge to shudder; his blue eyes were as cold as the ocean depths and held just about as much light.

"Hmm…I didn't realize that Sycamore was so interested in the legends as well," Lysandre said. "How very interesting. Did he say why he's so interested?"

"Lysandre!" a warm voice called out. Lysandre turned to the source and so did the teens. A woman dressed all in white walked over, her grey hair a contrast to her youthful appearance. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Diantha," Lysandre said, a small smile forcing itself onto his face. It didn't reach his eyes. Calem noticed that Diantha's eyes sparkled when she saw this and she seemed to know what the tall man was thinking. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, I'm good," she said easily. She turned to the teens and smiled. "Oh! Hello! I'm Diantha, pleased to meet you! You all are…?"

"I'm Calem, that's Shauna, Trevor, and Serena, ma'am," Calem said quickly. "Pleased to meet you as well."

Diantha nodded. "Indeed. You know, I can feel quite the bit of strength coming from you all….I'll be excited to hear about you all in the future. But for now, if you don't terribly mind, I'm going to borrow Lysandre for just a moment. After all, we have some catching up to do, don't we, old friend?"

Lysandre nodded slowly, his eyes slits. "Indeed. It was nice to meet you, children. I look forward to when our paths cross again." The two adults then walked off to the back of the cafe and took their place at a table.

"Okay, that was creepy as hell," Shauna said, shivering. "I vote we leave now?"

"Agreed," Calem said. He left cash on the table and the four friends bolted out of the cafe. "Who was that guy?"

Trevor shook his head. "Lysandre Guillory... he's the founder and head of Lysandre Labs, the company that made the Holocasters."

Serena slumped against the wall, her face pale. "And that….sweet Mew, that was Diantha. The Champion….I need to get her autograph. Right now!"

"And she's a famous actress," Shauna gushed. "So beautiful! I'm with you, Serena!"

"You guys go if you want but I want to get as far from this cafe as possible. That guy….ugh he gave me the creeps." Calem shook his head and rubbed his arms as if cold. "Did you see the way he froze up when Diantha appeared?"

"They didn't seem too fond of each other," Shauna noted. "I wonder why?"

"And why was Lysandre so…interested in Xerneas and Yveltal?" Trevor asked. "That's what drew him over to us and the idea of us trying to find them seemed to get to him."

Serena shook her head. "I have no clue but I don't care. Let's just go. I'll get her autograph another time." Serena looked around and nodded. "You know, I'm going to go catch up to Tierno in the dance studio and see how he's doing. Maybe someone there will let me battle them. Meet back at Sycamore's at seven?"

"Deal," the other three said. Serena waved and ran off. Shauna, Trevor, and Calem looked at each other. Calem shrugged.

"Your city, Trev. Lead the way."

Trevor sighed and nodded and the three friends headed off.

Tierno watched the battlefield closely, his foot tapping to the beat. It turned out that the dance studio specialized in dance battling for Pokemon, and Tierno had been thrilled to finally show off his mad skills against other Dancers. He had already beaten several, his Corphish and Charmander plowing through them effortlessly and with grace. Even the Budew he had caught on his way into the city was proving effective and had successfully evolved into a Roselia, shocking even Tierno at the speed.

But this...this guy was different. His Pancham had managed to dance away from everything Roselia had thrown at him and Tierno had been forced to switch to Charmander. He was good. The Dancer was totally in sync with the beat and his Pancham moved gracefully.

Tierno smiled though. He was better. "Charmander, Ember!" he called out. Charmander spit out the fire darts and the Pancham simply danced away, a simple but beautiful looking move. Charmander kept it up though, following him with the Ember attacks. Then, Pancham launched himself up into the air in a flip. Just as Tierno predicted. "Dragon Rage!" he yelled. The blue blast took Pancham square in the chest and knocked him to the floor and out of rhythm. Pancham struggled to his feet.

"Focus Blast!" his Trainer called. But, Tierno knew, it was already over. Charmander moved, performing a ballroom dance across the floor. Attack after attack missed as Charmander kept to the beat and moved with grace. When Pancham came in close, a simple step to the right, never missing a beat. A spin on his tail to dodge an uppercut. Then, when the moment was right, Tierno ended the battle.

"Flame Burst!" Tierno called. Charmander spun to a stop and in a moment, spat out a fireball. The attack plowed into Pancham and exploded, knocking the Fighting-type away.

"Pancham is unable to battle!" the referee called. "Charmander and Tierno are the winners!"

"Ha! Way to go, pal!" Tierno laughed. Charmander yawned and then began to glow. Tierno stopped and watched in amazement as Charmander evolved. When the light faded, Charmeleon stood, still yawning. He turned to face Tierno and extended his hand. Tierno laughed again and high-fived him. Tierno turned to the other Trainer and extended his hand out. "Well done, man. You almost got me there with your Pancham."

The Dancer shook his head and laughed. "You had it covered the entire time, didn't you?"

Tierno shrugged. "I don't wanna brag, but yeah, I totally did. But I couldn't have done it without this guy!" Tierno scooped Charmeleon up into a big hug. "You kick ass, man!" The Fire-type roared in agreement before being returned to his Pokeball.

"You know, with your skills, you would do pretty well in the dance competition coming up in Shalour City," the Dancer said. He fished in his pockets before drawing out a folder piece of paper. Tierno unfolded it and read what was on it with interest. "It's in a couple of weeks, so plenty of time to get over there. I'm sure you and your Pokemon will do great."

"Thanks," Tierno said. He pocketed the paper. "I'll make sure to check it out."

The Dancer smiled and walked off. "Well, good luck to you, man." Tierno smiled and walked off to find Serena. He found her finishing off her last opponent, Chester ending the battle by using Rollout on the poor Trainer's Zigzagoon.

"Anyone else?" Serena asked, aglow with victory. She had mopped up every opponent that had challenged her, much to her satisfaction. When no one stepped up to battle her, she sighed and scooped up Chester and walked over to Tierno. "Come on, Tierno. Let's head out. It's almost seven anyways. We should go meet up with the others at Sycamore's."

Tierno nodded happily and the two walked off. "Had some good fights?"

Serena laughed. "Oh man, did I ever! This dance battling thing certainly made it interesting but a lot of them seemed too focused on looking good then doing anything." She shrugged. "After that, it was pretty easy for me to clean up. How about you though? Anyone on your level?"

The larger boy smiled and laughed. "Yeah. I learned a lot about dancing from them. Hopefully my guys were paying attention, but I think I came away a changed man."

This drew raised eyebrows from Serena and Tierno laughed. Serena cracked a smile. "Well, new Tierno, you ready to go get dinner with our friends?"

The two turned down into one of the little parks only to find four people in simple suits with orang lining waiting. The suits turned to face Tierno and Serena and they smiled. "Well, there's the blondie. Shall we bring her in for questioning?" one of them asked.

"That's what the boss told us to do," another said. They all took out Pokeballs and within moments Serena and Tierno found themselves surrounded by a Seviper, Golbat, Houndoom, and Toxicroak, with a Mightyena and Manectric somehow ending up behind them. Serena grit her teeth and Chester dropped to the ground while Tierno drew out a Pokeball. "Now, just come quietly and no one gets hurt. We just have some questions for you."

"On three, we attack," Serena said quietly to Tierno, her other Pokeballs in her hand. "You take back, I'll hit the front, deal?" Tierno nodded and got ready to move. It would be risky, he figured, but he didn't like the look of these guys and figured getting taken in by them would be anything but good. "One," Serena whispered, gathering her muscles as Tierno prepared himself, "two….three! Vivian, Silver Wind, Fletcher, Razor Wind! Chester, Vine Whip!"

Tierno launched himself at the guys behind him, launching Charmeleon and Roselia at the two Pokemon. "Charmeleon, Dragon Burst! Roselia, Magical Leaf!" The attacks landed but the opposing Pokemon remained standing.

"Oh, so these kids think that's going to do anything, huh?" One of the Suits laughed. "Take them down!" The attacks were a swift onslaught and soon all five of Tierno and Serena's Pokemon were battered and bruised.

"Give in, kids," another Suit said, "and your Pokemon will be fine. Keep going, and well, you know what'll happen."

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice called. Everyone froze and turned to the rooftops. Two figures in white stood there, with masks on their face. One red, one blue. One girl, one boy.

"Is that-?" Tierno asked.

"I think so," Serena said. "But….why the masks and scarves?"

"Who the hell are you two?" one of the Suits growled.

"WE ARE THE WARRIORS OF JUSTICE!" Dexio yelled. His voice was slightly altered but it was still Dexio. "AND WE WILL DESTROY YOU! FLARES! PREPARE YOURSELF!" With that, he and Sina launched themselves off of the roof and threw two Pokeballs each. "Pangoro! Hammer Arm! Skarmory! Air Slash!"

"Pidgeot, Steel Wing!" Sina called. "Hariyama, Force Palm!" Their four Pokemon landed and launched their attacks. Skarmory's Air Slash blasted away the Toxicroak while Pangoro landed his Hammer Arm right on the Houndoom, plowing it down to the ground effortlessly. Pidgeot hit Golbat into a wall while Hariyama's attack blasted the Seviper back.

"You two alright?" Sina asked as she and Dexio landed next to Serena and Tierno.

"Yeah," Serena said, withdrawing her Pokemon to heal them up. "But what are you guys doing here?"

"We are SERVING JUSTICE TO WRONGDOERS!" Dexio cried. Sina sighed.

"The Prof sent us to watch over you five," Sina said. She glanced behind her and sighed. "Dexio, the Manectric and Mightyena?"

Dexio checked behind him and grinned. "EXCELLENT! ANOTHER VILLAIN TO SLAY!" He threw up a Pokeball, releasing a Mightyena. "Hyper Beam!" The Bite Pokemon growled and released a powerful blast of energy that blasted away the Manectric, interrupting it's Thunderbolt. "Pangoro! Hammer Arm again! Mightyena this time!" Pangoro rushed off from the defeated Houndoom and plowed into the enemy's Mightyena. The attack was so strong that it sent the Mightyena into the wall and knocked it out immediately. A minute or two later and all the Suits were running for their lives, their Pokemon returned.

Sina sighed and took off her mask. "Too easy, but still….it's disturbing that they would make a move so boldly in Lumiose…they're getting dangerous."

Dexio laughed. "Dangerous? Please! They are no match for JUSTICE!"

Sina ripped off Dexio's mask. "Dexio, it's over. Settle down." She turned to the two teens. "You two should hurry to Sycamore's lab now. We're going to go look for the others, make sure they're okay."

The two assistants returned their Pokemon and ran off, vanishing into the night. "Wait!" Serena cried out. "Who were those guys?"

No reply came and Serena huffed. "Looks like they're gone," Tierno said. "We should hurry up though. No telling if those guys will return." Serena nodded and the two ran off.

Trevor couldn't believe he had gotten himself into this situation. A Double Battle against two Thugs with Shauna….Arceus help him, why did he do this?

Of course he knew exactly why. He, Calem, and Shauna had been walking back, talking excitedly about the trip they had taken. Trevor had first tried the museum which only Calem liked. Shauna literally pulled him away and the three ended up spending the day in the park, eating ice cream and laughing. Calem ended up sitting on a rock and drawing the park and the various Pokemon roaming it. It was on their way back when Shauna had bumped into the back of one of the Thugs.

"You little twerp," he growled, glowering at her. He pulled out a Pokeball and snarled. "Get up, girly, and battle me." Then he smiled. "Actually, battle me and my buddy."

Shauna looked up and pouted back. "It was an accident. Don't you think that's kind of an overreaction?"

"You insulting me?" he asked, a scowl forming on his face. "Well then, that's it. Battle me now."

"Leave her alone!" Trevor yelled. Then he blinked and shut his mouth, fear welling up within him as he realized what he said. "Oh no," he squeaked.

The Thugs looked at him and Shauna then smiled. "Two v. two it is then!" They leaped back, forming a sort of semi battlefield. Other people immediately cleared out, leaving just the five of them in the opening. "Go, Krokorok!" "Sic 'em, Purrloin!"

Calem looked at the two Pokemon with measured and calm eyes. "You guys want me to take over?" he asked. Trevor was tempted to say yes. God he was not ready for this. He would get killed. And Calem could definitely do this.

"We got this," Shauna said, steel lacing her voice. "Right, Trev?"

She gave him that look-the puppy dog eyes and he couldn't back down. She wanted him at her back. And he'd help her, no matter what. "We'll be fine, Calem," he squeaked. The taller boy watched him carefully, his face a mask then nodded.

"Good luck," he said, stepping back.

Trevor turned to examine the two Pokemon. Both at least part Dark-type which gave him a good choice. "Floette! D-do your best!" he yelled out. The tiny Fairy-type floated out and cried out happily.

Shauna nodded, a small smile on her face. "Turtly, you've got this!" Turtly landed on his feet and did a little jig.

The first Thug let out a sneer. "Look at the little baby Pokemon. Please! Krokorok! Take them down! Crunch!" The Desert Croc Pokemon rushed forth, and before Trevor or Shauna could react, crunched down on Turtly's shell and threw him to the ground.

"Purrloin, Night Slash!" the other Thug yelled. Once more, Turtly was struck and bounced on the ground. Shauna cried out and Trevor had to admit, it didn't seem great.

But Turtly got up, barely a scratch. "Squirt," he said. "Squirtle!"

Shauna laughed and a new look came over her. "Good job, Turtly. Way to take hits and still look great! Now, Withdraw!"

"Floette! Back him up!" Trevor cried, shocked by how strong and authoritative he sounded. "Hit Krokorok with Energy Ball!" The tiny fairy created a ball of green energy over her flower and swung it out, launching the ball. Krokorok didn't move fast enough and the attack plowed into him, knocking him back.

"Purrloin! Hit that Squirtle again with Night Slash!" the second Thug ordered.

"Turtly, Withdraw again!" Shauna ordered. The Squirtle nodded and ducked into his shell. He got knocked back but popped out perfectly fine. A second Night Slash landed on Turtly and barely bothered him, much to the surprise of the Purrloin and its Trainer. "Water Pulse! Close range!" Shauna said giddily. Turtly laughed and blasted an orb of water directly into the face of the Purrloin. It burst open and the wave of water threw the Purrloin directly into the recovering Krokorok.

"Now, Floette! Fairy Wind them both!" Trevor shouted. The Single Bloom Pokemon nodded and pointed her flower at both Dark-type Pokemon. Twirling her flower, she released a powerful burst of pink, sparkling wind. Both Purrloin and Krokorok barely stood their ground against the attack.

"Now Turtly, wrap it up! Dragon Pulse!" Shauna yelled.

"Floette, join in with Energy Ball once more!" Trevor said. The two attacks rushed side by side before colliding with the two Thugs' Pokemon and then exploding, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. When the cloud cleared the two Dark-types were knocked out on the ground. The Thugs looked from the kids to their Pokemon and back again.

Calem whistled. "Well, that settles that then," he said. "We'll be going now and if you try anything, I'm sure my friends' Pokemon there would be more than happy to beat you down as well."

The Thugs stopped and then parted ways, returning their Pokemon. Calem smiled graciously and the three friends hurried on their way. When they reached the street with the lab Calem burst out laughing. "You guys were amazing!" he said, wiping away a fake tear. "Arceus! I didn't expect half of that from you two! Trevor, you were shockingly bold and Shauna! That was strategy! Like, really smart and well done, too!" He pulled them both close. "I'm so proud!"

"We have battled, Serena, too," Shauna said, giggling. "You know her; if we don't improve then she gets all huffy and mad."

Trevor nodded, but still managed to smile. "I-I didn't know what came over me… but it was fun."

Calem shook his head and let out another laugh. "Well, for that, next time we find ourselves getting food, it's on me!"

"It's always on you," Shauna teased. She looked up and pointed. "Tierno and Serena are back! Come on, let's hurry!"

Sycamore rested the temple of his head against his fingers and peered at Dexio and Sina. "You sure it was them?" he asked quietly.

"They weren't wearing the typical uniform," Sina said. "But I caught a glimpse of their symbol on the cufflinks of one of them. It was them."

The Professor sighed and leaned back. His head hurt. It hurt a lot lately. "Everyone back safe?"

"Yes, sir," Dexio said. "Tierno and Serena made their way back safely after our aid and Calem, Shauna, and Trevor were never stopped it appeared. They kept to public places the entire time, a smart, if unintentionally so, move."

"I'll have to contact him," Sycamore said, his fingers drumming against his desk. "We're having lunch soon anyways. I'll explain that I brought it up to the children as a joke, is all."

Sina and Dexio nodded. "What else would you like us to do, sir?" Sina asked.

"Keep investigating them," he said. "I wanna know how far they've spread. How many there are. Their skill, chain of command, specifics about their plans. More than we know now. Then, start reaching out to the gym leaders once we have enough data. We need to get ready for the battle that's coming."

Dexio frowned slightly. "That'll take time, sir. Do you think we have time enough for that? If they're bold enough to make a move in the open, to strike at teens you picked by hand, then perhaps they're moving faster than we thought."

"I know." Sycamore sighed. "We're running out of time. And what I ask of you isn't easy either. We all know the risk that lies with this. And I cannot thank you two enough for the risks you have undertaken."

"It's for the good of Kalos, sir," Dexio said. "We're happy and willing to serve."

"But those five aren't aware of the same risks, the same factors that are in play," Sina said, her voice hard. "We cannot use them like this, Professor. They don't know what you're getting them into."

"No, they don't," the Professor agreed. "But, we need them, Sina. The Albrights are two of the finest trainers in the world and from what I've heard from Mr. Thompson when he called in, Calem is not too far off. Serena has a will that burns brighter than most. Trevor is one of the smartest kids I've ever met, and all of them have that quiet sort of determination about them that forge heroes." He shook his head. "Kalos needs them, Sina. Without them, we're doomed."

"But we may be damning them to a fate they're not prepared for," Dexio said. "Taking on these guys isn't a walk in the park, Professor. They could get hurt, get injured, or worse. We cannot risk them like this."

"I know," Sycamore said quietly. "If I had any other choice I would take it. But this is our only choice. Without these five, I fear that Kalos will not last." He looked up at the ceiling and he could faintly hear the laughter and buzz of conversation from the five teens he was housing. "May Arceus have mercy on them all."

 _And,_ he thought, _on my soul should this all go wrong._

 **A/N: Well, yeah sorry about this stupidly late entry. Combine last minute intense schoolwork with a knee injury, physical therapy, surgery, and then more physical therapy, along with other stuff in general and you don't get a lot of time. Still, super sorry about this guys.**


	8. A Quiet Dawn

**Chapter 8: A Quiet Dawn**

"I hate rich people," Calem said as he collapsed to the ground. "I hate rich people, I hate rich Trainers, I hate Snorlax, and I hate this entire Palkia damned world."

Tierno cocked his head as he started prepping his cooking gear. "Calem… you're rich. Like, super rich, aren't you?"

Calem looked at Tierno and sighed. "Yes, but I still hate rich people. Just those who aren't me and my family." He grunted as he got up and tiredly began to set up a tent. "I mean, for the love of Dialga, who holds onto a flute that has no use but waking up freaking Snorlaxes, refuse to give it up unless they get their Furfrou back, and then just hands it over and says they never liked it?! Who does that?"

"Oh, shut it," Serena said as she released her Pokemon. An Absol she had caught when they first entered Route 8 laid down on the ground and watched the sea that lay below the cliff they were on. Fletcher landed on the Absol's, who Serena named Soledad, horn and chirped happily. Soledad barely paid attention to the bird, even though Fletcher had evolved into a Fletchinder. Chester still hadn't evolved yet, and just clung to Serena's leg and Vivian flapped contently behind her. "You and Shauna just had to catch a Furfrou. You didn't even have to battle the freaking thing. You try fighting a cranky Snorlax!"

"It was awful," Trevor said, shuddering. "Poor Pikachu is still recovering from the shock." Trevor rubbed the Electric-type's head affectionately. Ivysaur, newly evolved, growled sadly and Floette patted his head. Litleo simply yawned and settled back into his nap.

"At least we got a paralysis off," Tierno said cheerfully. "Made things way easier!" He grabbed a tough nut and put it down. "Chop that for me, Axew?" His new Dragon Pokemon cried out happily and with a swift movement cut the nut with its tusk. "Thanks, pal."

"Doesn't matter," Calem grumbled. His Skiddo, Cabri, that he caught soon after leaving Lumiose butted in him the back gently and he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Tierno! Pokefood ready? I think Cabri here is going to revolt if she doesn't eat."

Shauna popped up from the ground, sending her new Ducklett, Ducky, flying off in surprise. "Ooh! Same here! Veevee, Turtly, Tadlo, and Ducky need to eat if they're going to keep that sheen they have!" Turtly agreed quite loudly while Eevee simply rolled on the ground.

"It's in my bag over there," Tierno pointed. "One of you mind getting it ready so I can focus on dinner?"

"I've got it," Serena said, pulling out the bag of Pokefood with a grunt. Trevor grabbed the bowls and within moments the Pokemon were all eating happily while their Trainers lounged on the ground.

"Okay, so maybe I didn't have to battle the Snorlax," Calem said, "but still. Route 7 was annoying. Why did those Painters challenge me to battles? I just wanted to talk!"

"At least you didn't get dragged into the Battle Chateau by Serena," Shauna said, shooting a venomous look at her best friend.

"Those guys were pushovers," Serena said. "Hardly worth the time."

"Until you destroyed those vases," Tierno added from the campfire. "Then they got pissed."

"I had never seen so many Trainers gang up on one person," Trevor said. "If we hadn't helped they would've killed you."

Serena spluttered. "We were battling inside a mansion!"

"Chateau," Trevor corrected.

"Whatever! Point is, of course things were going to break! What were they expecting?"

"You to be civilized?" Calem guessed. He grinned and took Serena's punch. "But, admittedly that was a bad idea on their end. But damn, I'm impressed you guys took them all on...well except when the fight came outside and I got involved. That part blew."

"At least Tadlo evolved!" Shauna said, watching the Lombre lay against Soledad. "He's not the same kind of cute he used to be, but he is still cute in his own way."

Trevor smiled and watched Ivysaur settle down for the night. "Same with Ivysaur. It was good experience and several of those Trainers had some hard to find Pokemon. I got a lot of data."

Serena raised an eyebrow and gave Trevor a look. "You, in the middle of an intense battle, got data in the Pokedex for each and every one of the opposing Pokemon that we were battling?"

Trevor blinked. "Of course. Serena, it's what I do. I….why do you seem surprised?" Shauna giggled, causing Trevor to blink again and blush. Calem cracked a smile and Tierno laughed.

"Well said, Trev," he said, bringing plates with rice, a small berry salad, and Tauros steaks over. "Dig in, you guys."

The five friends did indeed dig in and within moments their plates were wiped clean and they were laying on the grass, looking up at the stars. "Route 8 almost makes up for the Connecting Caves," Calem said. "It's so pretty here."

"Are you sure we're s-s-safe here though?" Trevor stammered. "I mean, cliffs can be weak and what if it breaks and we all fall to our deaths?"

Shauna propped herself up and glared at Trevor. "Trevor, stop worrying so much."

"We'll be fine," Serena said confidently. "Soledad is an Absol. She'll warn us if anything bad is going to happen." Soledad looked up, yawned, and laid her head back down. Serena laughed. "See, Trevor? It'll be fine!" Trevor still looked nervous but checked his Pokedex which seemed to calm him down.

"The Connecting Cave wasn't that bad," Tierno said.

"Zubats, Tierno," Calem said, a growl in his voice. "Freaking Zubats. Every. Where."

"And Whismurs," Tierno cheerfully added. "Though…all those Supersonics gave me a headache."

"The Whismurs were cute," Shauna said, "right up until they started using Uproar."

"And then that Scyther came out of nowhere," Serena said wistfully. She glared at Tierno. "And you didn't even let me properly fight it before catching it."

Tierno shrugged, still looking straight up at the stars. "He had sick moves. How could I resist." He turned to see his new Scyther practice a waltz with Charmeleon and Corphish. "Though I will have to think of a better strategy for him….eh, I'll worry about it later."

"All in all, I'm glad we're almost to Ambrette Town," Calem said. "And then, from there, it's only a couple of hours to Cyllage City!"

"Where I can finally get my next badge," Serena said. She sighed. Then, pushing herself up and stretching, she returned her Pokemon and started off to the tent. "I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see ya guys in the morning."

Shauna stood up and yawned, running after Serena, recalling her Pokemon on the way. "Night, guys!"

The three boys looked around and Calem sighed. "I'll change first. I saw some good bushes a little ways back." He picked up his stuff and walked off, grumbling to himself about Zubats, rich people, Snorlaxes and flutes.

"Is he okay?" Trevor asked.

Tierno shrugged. "He's had a long day. Come on, let's go call back our Pokemon."

Serena blearily opened her eyes to to darkness and faint whistling. She sat up and looked around. Shauna on her right was still sound asleep, and so were Trevor and Tierno. But Calem's sleeping bag was empty. Frowning, she gathered her clothes and changed as quickly and quietly as she could and stepped outside. The sun was low; just barely rising on the horizon and the sky was a very light and gorgeous blue and orange.

Calem, she found sitting on a rock with a large notebook open on his lap, his hat not on his head for once. Cabri lay sleeping on the ground, Grix laying against her, paws folded over his stomach. Colux floated nearby, his flame flickering and changing shapes while Grenou looked at the horizon intently. His eyes flicked over to Serena before turning away, finding her no threat.

The tune Calem whistled was vaguely familiar to Serena. It sounded like something her dad would've sung when he was still alive and putting her to bed. Calem didn't even notice her, focused intently on whatever he was doing. She got closer and managed to see what it was; a drawing of his four Pokemon stretched out before him, amazingly detailed and very carefully crafted. Calem's pencil moved quickly and she found herself floored by the drawing.

Calem stopped drawing and examined the picture closely. He nodded and signed the picture at the bottom. He grabbed his bag and bent over to put it away when he noticed Serena. "Morning," he said cheerfully. He picked up his hat and put it on, smiling. "I didn't expect you to be up this early, to be honest, Serena."

"I heard you whistling," she said, sitting down on the grass by him. She looked up at him, her head cocked. "I didn't know you drew."

Calem raised an eyebrow. "Really? I mean, I guess I don't really talk about it much, do I? And most of my drawing is in the early mornings… but still, I'm surprised that never came up."

Serena sighed. _I'm an awful friend,_ she thought. _I never even bothered to ask him about hobbies. Mew, I'm awful._

She looked up to find Calem studying her carefully. Judging by his expression she had let her worry and self-hate show. "Serena, don't worry about it. It doesn't matter."

"How do you know I was?" she asked. "Maybe I was just thinking about the next gym battle."

"Because I know you," Calem said. He chuckled. "I can't always read you well enough, but there are moments when you're open like a book."

Serena huffed, pretending to pout. "Oh, am I now? And what exactly am I thinking now, Mr. Mind Reader?"

"That you'll throw me off this cliff next time I say something like that to you," Calem said. Serena rolled her eyes but didn't deny it. "Seriously though, don't worry too much about it, okay? It's just a habit of mine."

"That's the problem," Serena said. "I never even bothered asking about it. Never even thought about it. I'm your best friend. And I didn't even think about what you liked." Serena brought her knees to her chest. "What kind of friend does that?"

"One who has their sights set on the future," Calem said. "You have a goal in mind and you're focused on it. I'm not gonna fault you for that."

"Doesn't mean that I should've just ignored my friends," Serena said. She sighed. "How long have you been drawing?"

"Long time," Calem said. "Started when my parents signed me up for art classes to keep me busy. It took pretty well." He dug the sketchbook back out and passed it to Serena. "You can look if you want." Serena took the book and flipped through the pages, pausing at one of the Lumiose City skyline in the setting sun.

"They're all really good," she said. "Do the others know?"

"They've been my models a few times," Calem said. He smiled. "Shauna loved it the most I think. Trevor always seemed terrified, the poor kid."

Serena shook her head. Then, a thought came to her mind. She bolted up, eyes ablaze with determination. The quickness of it all nearly caused Calem to lose his place on his rock. "You need to draw me. Right now!"

Calem blinked a few times before his cheeks turned a very light pink color. "You, uh, want to model for me?"

"Yes," Serena said. Then her face softened and her eyes watered slightly. "Please? If it's not too weird?"

He smiled at that. "Not weird at all," he said. He slid off the rock. "Sit there. I'll take the grass. Only the best for my models." Serena grinned and tossed the sketchpad back at him. He caught it easily and sat cross legged a couple of feet away, pencil at the ready. "Just going to warn you, this might take a while, okay, so try not to move that much."

"I'll do my best," Serena said. She fixed her hat and faced Calem, her pose both relaxed and proper. Calem raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead he set his pencil to the page and started to draw.

Serena hadn't really though through what it would be like to be drawn by Calem but she found the attention to be….intriguing. His eyes were focused, intent, and seemed as if they took in every little detail about her. He focused on her face first, and more than a few times, their eyes locked and Serena felt her face growing warm. _Get a hold of yourself,_ she thought desperately. _It's just a drawing, that's all._

A while passed, she had no clue how long, before his eyes moved down to her torso. "If you want, we can talk," he said, his voice different. It lacked most of the warmth that she associated with Calem and was just focused instead. "I may not respond for a bit, but don't worry, I'm listening." He grinned and that warmth returned and Serena felt her smile widen just a bit.

"You got my face done that quickly?" she asked.

"It wasn't that hard," he said. "Besides, it's easy drawing something that's so pleasing to look at it." He flashed her a quick smirk and Serena rolled her eyes but she definitely felt her cheeks warm up a little bit.

The two sat in silence for a little bit longer, Serena trying to ignore the fact that Calem was very closely examining her chest for the drawing. "Hey, Calem," she said, deciding the silence wasn't for her, "do you think I can do this?"

"Do what?" Calem said, still focused on the drawing.

"Take on the gyms," she said. "Get all the badges, challenge the Elite Four….all of that stuff. Do you think I can do it?"

He didn't respond for several minutes, leaving an awkward silence. "No clue," Calem said finally.

Serena resisted the urge to bolt up. "Are you serious?"

"I don't know much about the Gym Leaders," he said. "Judging from Viola they're all gonna be tough, the Elite Four even tougher than that. So, I have no real clue." Calem smiled. "But, I know you, Serena Gaines. You're tough and stubborn and above all else, determined to keep pressing on. So while I don't know for sure that you could beat every last Trainer, my heart says that you've got this covered so don't worry."

Serena blinked her eyes. "Thank you," she said, a gorgeous smile on her face. Calem's eyes widened slightly and a very light blush appeared on his cheeks before he focused back on the drawing. "So, Calem, what do you want from the future?"

"A wife, kids, and a nice house," he said instantly. He blushed and chuckled. "But you meant like career-wise, yeah?"

Serena giggled. "Wanting a family is pretty cute," she teased. "I didn't realize you were such a sap, Calem."

"A man wants what he wants," Calem said. "But career-wise, I've got no clue. If I could make it work I wouldn't mind being an artist full time….otherwise maybe a teacher. I'm not really sure. How about you? Do you just wanna be Champion?"

"I don't know," Serena said honestly. "I mean being Champion would be awesome, don't get me wrong, but there's other stuff, too. Being a Gym leader has always appealed to me a lot. I get to battle for a living and help other Trainers grow. Sounds pretty cool to me."

"It helps too that it would be a very cushy job, huh?" Calem joked. Serena laughed.

"I won't deny that," she said. "But still, it would be fun. Though I guess I would have to figure out a single type to use….and that's no fun."

Calem chuckled. The two continued to talk aimlessly about the future, the journey they were on, and anything that popped into their heads. A while later, Calem nodded and signed his name at the bottom of the page and turned the paper to face Serena. Serena found her breath knocked out of her. The drawing was gorgeous. She looked amazing in it, even if it was only in pencil. "I'll probably color it later," Calem said. "But what do you think?"

"It's amazing," she said. She got up and hugged Calem tight, forcing him to drop the sketchpad to the ground in shock. "Thank you." He relaxed and hugged her back.

"Anything for my friend," he said quietly back. They stepped back soon after and Calem flashed her a goofy smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to use the bathroom." He jogged off and Serena found herself smiling again.

She turned back to head over to the cliff edge when she found Shauna looking at her, a huge grin on her face. "That was so cuuuuuute!" she squealed, rushing her best friend. Serena found her hands being held by Shauna who was speaking so fast Serena could barely understand her.

"Shauna, what are you talking about?" Serena asked. "What's cute?"

"You and Calem!" Shauna said. "I mean, I always had my suspicions but this, this confirms everything I've ever thought! Oh my Arceus, you have to ask him out!"

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Ask. Calem. Out? Are you mad, Shauna? I don't like him like that and he doesn't like me like that."

Shauna pouted, crossing her arms. "Oh really? And then, pray tell, did you hug him tight like that? And volunteer to sit and model for him?"

"You guys have modeled for him, too," Serena said. "And I was just grateful. Friends hug each other, Shauna."

The smaller girl's eyes narrowed. "We've never modeled for him on our own. And come on. Drawing you in the early morning, all tender like? That's so romantic!"

Serena rolled her eyes and walked past her friend. "Whatever you say, Shauna. But I do not have a crush on Calem." _Obviously,_ she thought to herself. Though a tiny voice did doubt her.

Calem was walking back from the bushes when he was ambushed by Shauna flying at him. He swore and fell down onto his ass. "Shauna! What in the name of Palkia was that for?" he asked. He got up and patted dust off of him.

"I saw you and Serena this morning," she said in a sing-song voice. Calem's face immediately started burning. _Damn you, blush_ , he thought.

"I….look she just volunteered to be my model….and there's absolutely nothing going on….and oh Arceus, you don't believe me," he stammered. Shauna shook her head happily.

"Nope! I know how hopeless you are for her, Calem," she said with a wink. "Don't worry, your secret love is safe with me." That did not fill Calem with feelings of safety. "I won't say a word about it to anyone."

"You already tried Serena, haven't you?" Calem guessed as the two walked back to the campsite.

"Of course not!" Shauna said, feigning innocence. "Who do you think I am, Calem?"

Calem resisted the urge to answer that question. Instead he just sighed. "Look, Shauna, I'm not sure how I feel about Serena," he said. _Liar,_ he thought. "So please. Just….don't do anything crazy like when you tried to set up Tierno and that girl back in fifth grade."

Shauna huffed but nodded. "Fine. But, in my defense, that worked out masterfully."

"After they both fell into a river full of Basculin," Calem pointed out. "Tierno still has a scar you know."

Serena turned and watched the two of them and Calem waved. She smiled and waved back before turning to face the sea again, lost in thought. The tent rustled and Tierno stepped out, yawning. He looked to see the other three wide awake and shrugged. "Might as well get breakfast ready now," he said to himself. "'Sides, we've got a busy day, don't we?"

 **A/N: Welp, boom. Done. Quick and easy. Nice, simple Chapter that is leading up to the adventures in Ambrette Town and then Cyllage City. Should be fun! And uh, reviews would be nice.**


	9. Flare

**A/N: So, a reader asked me to do this and I liked the idea a lot so I'll do this at the beginning of every chapter (and again at the end if I introduce new Pokemon). Basically, it's the names of the Pokemon. So, here we go! Serena: Chester (Chespin), Vivian (Vivillon), Fletcher (Fletchinder) and Soledad (Absol). Calem: Grix (Meowstic), Colux (Lampent), Grenou (Froakie), and Cabri (Skiddo). Shauna: Veevee (Eevee), Turtly (Squirtle), Tadlo (Lombre), Ducky (Ducklett). Then there's Trevor: Floette, Pikachu, Ivysaur, Litleo. Then, Tierno: Corphish, Charmander, Roselia, Scyther, and Axew. That's all for now! Hope you enjoy! And thanks to all you guys for reading and liking this (hopefully)!**

 **Chapter 9: Flare**

Serena whistled cheerfully as she packed up her foldable fishing pole. An odd gift from her dad when she was six was now coming in use. Or at least, use enough for the Horsea she now had. Nicknamed Horace, he was currently relaxing in her bag in his Pokemon Ball.

A soft breeze blew off from the ocean and Serena found herself smile contently. Ambrette Town was amazing. Small without being too small, beautiful architecture, and friendly people. It's proximity to the sea kept a constant wind blowing and she could see why so many people came here to settle down.

 _Plus_ , she thought, _we're only about five hours off from Cyllage City, and the next Gym._ Serena continued to whistle as she walked back to where the others were waiting in a cafe. They had gotten to Ambrette town that morning after another day on Route 8 and had decided to spend the day relaxing and stocking up before heading out. And so the cafe was the place they had decided to wait to choose what they were going to do. Serena, for her part, was going insane with stress and anxiety. Cyllage City was so close. So. Close. She could just taste it, feel that badge in her hand.

Instead, she was here. Stuck. Fantastic. _Might as well make the most of it,_ she thought. Which was why she went fishing. Her dad had done it all the time and she figured if he loved it so much she should at least try it out. And it wasn't for nothing. She caught Horace who was adorable and judging by how hurt Vivian had gotten, pretty damn powerful. Which was good. Grant used Rock-Type Pokemon from what she remembered from her studying since the battles against Viola. She would be prepared for the next battle, dammit. And so, a powerful Water-type like Horsea was perfect.

Serena entered the cafe and slid into the open seat at the table where the others waited. She grabbed Horace's Pokeball and tossed it to Trevor. "A Horsea, Trev. Figured you'd like to get the data in." Trevor's eyes widened as he caught the Pokeball.

"Oh! Thank you," he said. He released Horace and scanned him before returning the Pokemon to the Ball and giving it back to Serena.

"Okay!" Calem said, clapping his hands. "Now that Serena is all here, let's figure out what we're going to do while in Ambrette!"

"We could just leave," Serena suggested innocently. Calem sighed.

"Serena, Grant isn't going anywhere," he said. "Besides, it's good for us to take a rest day every now and then. No harm in catching up with some relaxation, Serena."

"I dunno then," Shauna said lazily. She yawned. "This town is bigger than home, sure. But not bustling with activity. Not to mention that creepy dude in the hotel in the pink suit."

"He was pretty weird," Tierno admitted. "And he just vanished, like that! How odd, am I right?"

Calem sighed. "Yes, that dude was majorly creepy, but what does he have to do with our conversation?"

"I'm not spending more time than I have to in that hotel," Shauna said. "No way. I don't care if our rooms are locked up. I'm. Not. Doing. It."

"I have an idea," Trevor said. All four pairs of eyes swung to face him and he shrunk down a little. "How about we visit Route 9 and the Glittering Cave?"

"You mean Spikes Passage?" Calem asked. He sat back and smiled. "I like it, Trev. I've heard about both and I've always been interested, especially in the Cave."

Tierno shrugged. "I'm down. It sounds cool and maybe I'll see some cool new moves."

Shauna shrugged as well. "What's in the caves?"

"Tons of glittering crystals," Trevor said. "I've read that it's supposed to be really stunning."

"I'm in!" Shauna said. "That sounds amazing! We have to go!"

Serena sighed. "But….Cyllage City, you guys!" No way they would rather explore caves than hurry onto Cyllage City, right?

"You know," Calem said, a sly grin on his face, "I've heard that Grant used to do a lot of training on both Route 9 and in the Cave. Maybe you'll learn something, Serena."

Serena's eyes widened, but then they immediately narrowed again. "You're lying," she said. "No way that's true."

"Can you really take the risk?" Calem asked, his grin infuriating. Serena thought frantically and realized that, no, she really couldn't. Even if Grant hadn't trained there, it was still a new locale with new Pokemon and Trainers for her to practice against. And if he had practiced there, then she could understand how he might battle.

"Fine." She gritted her teeth. "Let's go to the Cave."

The five found themselves looking down Route 9. "That, is a very treacherous looking path," Tierno noted. The road before them was covered in jagged, broken rock and looked insanely difficult to walk on.

"That's why we ride the Rhyhorn," Trevor said, pointing to a stand with a pen full of Rhyhorn by it. "They lend them out to Trainers looking to cross the Route. It's the only safe way."

Serena laughed. "Reminds me of back when my mom trained me to ride Rhyhorn. Poor Rhys back at home got so tired."

Calem laughed and started walking up to the stand. "Serena, your mom trained you until your fifteenth birthday. And even then she still tried to train you more."

"Okay, okay," Serena said, laughing. "My point still stands though!"

The man manning the stand looked up and smiled at Calem. "So, five of us, five Rhyhorns?" Calem asked. "Please?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Usually, I'd say sure, but we've only got six and we like to keep some extra back. So, how about three? Just ride double."

"That'll work," Serena said, gently pushing Calem aside much to his own confusion. "Is there a time limit or anything we should know?"

The man shook his head. "Nah, just return them in one piece, please. The Pokemon here can be kinda vicious and Rhyhorn sadly tend to step on them a lot." The man turned back into the stand walked out the back. "Now come on! I'll help you guys get set up!"

A few minutes later, Calem found himself behind Serena, holding on for dear life as their Rhyhorn bounded effortlessly across the road of broken rock. He had never ridden a Rhyhorn and if this is what it was like, then he never wanted to do it again. His arms were wrapped around Serena tightly and he prayed to Arceus that he wouldn't fall off. His legs also hurt like hell and he could feel himself getting sore. And barely any time had passed. He hoped that his legs wouldn't be messed up when he was done.

Or that all the blood rushing to his head wouldn't kill him. _Damn you straight to the pits of the Earth, hormones,_ Calem thought. "Do we have to go so fast?" he asked Serena nervously. "I feel like my legs have turned to jelly."

"Oh, it'll get worse," Serena cheerfully said. "And this is with a saddle. If we were going bareback….ooh boy, you would be having a lot of issues."

"You sound way too happy about this," Calem said. He groaned when the Rhyhorn made a particularly dangerous leap that had a hard landing. "I'm going to kill you for this. You're choosing the worst things to do, aren't you?"

"No comment," Serena said. She laughed again.

Blessedly, the ride ended fifteen or twenty minutes later- he lost track of time by that point. He shakily disembarked and fell flat on his face, his legs giving out beneath him. Serena chuckled but helped him up and steadied. "Easy, pal," she said. "Easy. Don't worry, too much. You'll feel better in a little while. Just sit down. The others are behind us anyways."

Calem sat down gratefully on a rock and leaned his head back. "Why does this hurt so much?" he asked, groaning.

Serena shrugged. "Your muscles aren't used to it, is all. It gets better after the first time." She sat down next to him and Calem closed his eyes.

When he opened them next he found Shauna petting a Helioptile while Trevor scanned it and a Sandile. Trevor noticed him waking up first and smiled, returning the Sandile. "Hey, Calem."

Calem looked at Tierno, Shauna, and Trevor carefully and then groaned. "You guys suck. Why am I the only who is full of pain? Which has mostly gone, but still!"

"We've rode Rhys," Shauna said happily. "During that week you were sick?"

Calem narrowed his eyes. "You bastards," he said before shakily getting to his feet. He pointed to the Helioptile. "Yours, Shauna?"

Shauna nodded and picked up the Electric-Type in a big hug. "Yup! Her name is Tileo!"

"Good, sleepyhead is awake," Serena said, patting Calem's back as she walked up. "I've beaten every Trainer who was willing to battle here so I say let's move on."

"How long was I out?" Calem asked.

"An hour at most," Serena said. "Don't sweat it, Calem. I'm just really fast."

"I've noticed," he said. "So, Trevor, where's the cave?"

"Behind you," the ginger boy said, pointing. Calem turned, seeing a path leading to the mouth of the cave. He pursed his lips.

"Oh," he said. "Well….I was in too much pain to notice?"

"Own your mistakes," Tierno said. "Come on!" The four others walked off, leaving Calem sputtering behind them. He sighed and ran off after them and met up with them at the mouth. The five looked to each other and nodded.

"Together," they said. As one, the five friends stepped into the cave together.

Shauna squealed once they were inside. "Oh! Look at those crystals! It's all so pretty!" She ran off deeper into the cave, forcing the others to run after her.

"Shauna!" Trevor yelled out. "Please don't go so far! Shauna!" The girl laughed happily and continued to run deeper into the cave, Tileo lighting up the path.

Calem and Serena laughed and soon they left the narrow tunnels they started in, entering the wider, more cavern like area. Shauna stopped running and leaned against the wall, breathing hard but still laughing. The others caught up and sunk to the ground, Calem still chuckling. "That was fun, wasn't it, Tileo?" Shauna said. The Helioptile growled contentedly and rubbed up against her cheek.

"You….nearly….gave….me…..a…..heart attack," Trevor gasped. He stood up and pouted at Shauna. "You could've gotten hurt!"

Shauna frowned. "Sorry, Trevor, but I was having fun. And look! I'm okay!" She spun around and struck a pose. "See? All here!" Trevor blushed and muttered something, turning around. Calem laughed and was about to say something when a cry rang out through the caves. It was a Pokemon, but one clearly in pain. He burst to his feet and ran off.

"Calem!" Serena cried out. "Wait up!"

"Something's in trouble!" he yelled over his shoulder. _And damn me if I don't help._ "Grenou!" he called, releasing the Froakie as he ran, who easily bounded up onto his shoulder. "Let's go!"

Tierno, to the surprise of everyone else, was the first one to get moving, managing to catch up to the taller boy. He nodded at Calem and the two bounded off, turning down one path in an intersection. Serena, Shauna, and Trevor were moments behind and were about to follow when they heard a different cry down another path, decidedly human. "What now?" Shauna asked.

Serena gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. As much as the thought of Calem- _And Tierno,_ her mind added- going to face danger alone scared her, Calem was a fantastic Trainer, and Tierno was pretty good in his own right. They would probably be able to handle themselves. But the person who needed help wouldn't. "We go after that voice," she said. "Let's go." The three turned down the other path and ran off.

"Any clue what Pokemon that was?" Tierno asked as he and Calem ran through the tunnel they were in.

"No clue," Calem responded. "But it was hurt. It needs help." Tierno nodded, satisfied with the answer. They entered a larger cavern moments later and slowed down. They could hear a Pokemon of some kind whimpering in pain before roaring out in rage. Calem crouched, and, with Tierno following his lead, the two crept forward until they could see the Pokemon.

It was a Kangaskhan, cornered by a Purrloin and a Croagunk. She was badly wounded and her baby was cowering within her mom's pouch. Two people in bright, obnoxious orange suits stood nearby, one man, one woman. Their hair was also dyed orange. The man tsked. "At this rate we'll never get the Mega Stone from her," he said. "Croagunk, again. Poison Jab!"

Calem felt his blood boil as the Croagunk leapt at the tired Pokemon and hit her dead on with the attack, driving her further back. "Enough!" he hissed. He ran towards them, forcing Tierno to follow. "Grenou! Hit them with Water Pulse! Double!" Grenou leaped from his shoulder and pegged the Purrloin and Croagunk with Water Pulses, blasting them both away before he landed down in front of the Kangaskhan. The two orange suits looked towards Calem and he saw they were both wearing orange tinted glasses.

"Who are you two?" the woman asked.

"Does it matter?" Calem growled. "What the fuck are you guys doing to that Kangaskhan?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "It has something we want. We're going to claim it. The Pokemon decided though that it would be wiser to fight us." The man sighed. "Such a pain."

"As for who we are," the woman said, smirking, "we are….TEAM FLARE!" She and the man struck a weird pose and Calem and Tierno cocked their heads.

"I….never heard of you," Calem said. He blinked and cocked his head. "Um, should I have?"

"Wait a sec," Tierno said quietly to Calem. "Flare? Dexio mentioned that word when he fought those guys back in Lumiose. They're suits had orange, too….think it's a coincidence?"

Calem eyed the two grunts who seemed completely floored by his earlier statement, talking quickly to each other. "Maybe….but I doubt it." He pointed to the two. "You! Did your Team Flare attack my friends back in Lumiose City, but dressed in dark suits instead of your outlandish orange?"

"Outlandish?" the man sputtered. "You little pest! I should-"

"Those?" the woman said, her hard gaze focused on Calem. "Possibly some of the higher-ups who take orders directly from our boss. They don't follow the normal goals of our group."

"And what are those?" Tierno asked, a Pokeball in hand.

"To make this world beautiful again!" The woman spread her arms wide. "Can't you see it? The dirt, the smog, that covers our world? The scum that act like they own it all, the thieves who bring us down to their level, into their filth? We, Team Flare, seek only to eliminate that filth, to clean our world to perfection, and to keep it that way forever!" She extended her hand. "You two! You seem like you can get behind this, no?"

Calem blinked. They….didn't sound horrible. "So, you just want justice for the world?"

"Beauty, not justice," the man corrected. "But justice is a part of the beauty. So yes, to create our beautiful world, we will administer justice to those who deserve it."

Tierno shook his head. "Sounds great and all, but if that justice involves hurting an innocent Pokemon, that count me out." He tossed the Pokeball up high, releasing Scyther. He caught the ball and stared ahead, his gaze steely.

Calem stepped to his side and nodded. "Well said, Tiern. So, back off."

The grunts looked at each other and smiled. "Very well," the woman said. "If you do not seek to aid us in our plans for beauty, we must remove you as well. I'm sorry. Purrloin, attack!"

A Few Minutes Earlier,

Serena, Trevor, and Shauna dashed through the cave, trying to reach the source of the cry for help. Serena still couldn't help but beat herself up for letting Tierno and Calem dash down a different path. And then she had chosen to not follow them! _If Calem gets hurt,_ she thought. _Or Tierno….I swear I will kill whoever is responsible._ But for now, someone needed her help, and she had to do whatever she could to help them.

A moment later, the three ran out into a wider cavern, where they were greeted by the sight of a scientist- or so Serena assumed, based off of the lab coat he was wearing- faced by three Pokemon- a Houndour, Krokorok, and Sneasel- and their Trainers, two women and a man, all in horrendous orange suits. Every head in the chamber swiveled to look at them. Serena meanwhile found herself remembering the weirdos who had attacked her and Tierno back in Lumiose….different suits, sure, but the orange….she shook her head. It had to be a coincidence.

"Who are you three kids?" the man asked. His gaze behind his stupid orange tinted sunglasses was harsh, but Serena found herself setting her feet down firmly on the ground and glaring right back.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Serena growled. She shot a look over to the scientist. "Sir, you okay?"

"I, um, I'm fine for now, it appears," he stammered. "But my predicament, is….rather dire it would appear."

"Shut up," one of the women spat. The scientist whimpered and seemed to squeeze into the background. Her lips twisted in a scowl and she glanced at her compatriot, a woman with shorter brown hair. "What should we do with them, Keller?"

"We can't very well let them go," the other woman- Keller, presumably- said. She sighed. "We're going to have to capture them or silence them. Ugh, I hate jobs like this."

"Agreed, but we do what we must," the man said. He snapped his fingers and the three Pokemon turned to face the young Trainers. "Sneasel, keep the good Doctor from leaving though. Freeze his feet to the ground." The Sneasel nodded and, using Ice Beam, covered the scientist's legs and feet to the ground with a solid sheet of ice.

"Now then, kids, you have a couple of options," Keller said. She smiled. "Fight us and lose, risking your own safety and that of your Pokemon, or give in now and we promise that no needless harm will come to you."

Serena grabbed a Pokeball and glanced behind her. To her surprise, and relief, both Trevor and Shauna had grabbed a Pokeball as well. Though, Trevor's hand was shaking, but still. Serena turned back to the weirdos in orange. "Before we decide, who are you?"

The other woman's lips curled up in a smile. "We are Team Flare!" Serena's lips pulled into a tight smile. Dexio had called the people who had attacked them in Lumiose Flares. _That settles it,_ she thought. _These guys have to go down._

"Well, then I've made up my mind," Serena said. She threw her Pokeball into the air. "Fletcher! Ember!"

"Ivysaur!" Trevor cried, his voice timid but stronger than Serena would've guessed. "Giga Drain!"

"Let's go, Turtly!" Shauna yelled out. "Water Pulse!"

"A fight it is!" the woman cried, a wicked smile on her lips. "Houndour, dodge and hit the Ivysaur with Flamethrower!" The Houndour deftly leapt out of the way of Turtly's Water Pulse before sending a stream of fire at Ivysaur.

"Turtly! Take the hit for Ivysaur!" Shauna cried. Her Squirtle nodded and leapt into the Flamethrower, taking the hit on his shell before being knocked away and down onto the ground, hurt but far from finished.

"Sneasel! Dodge and then Ice Beam on the Fletchinder!" the man ordered. The Sneasel growled and released a blast of icy energy which it kept on Fletcher as he wove his way around the beam.

"Krokorok!" Keller said. "Take down the Squirtle! Thunder Fang!" Its fangs bristling with electricity, the Desert Croc Pokemon leapt at Turtly, jaws wide.

"Ivysaur, Vine Whip! Keep Krokorok at bay!" Trevor said. Serena's eyebrows raised at how calm and in control he sounded. Maybe he wasn't a complete wreck. Ivysaur obeyed without hesitation, his vines smacking the Krokorok out of the air and onto the ground. "Shauna, can you keep Houndour busy with Turtly while I keep on Krokorok?" Trevor asked. His voice cracked and he blushed. There was a slight tremor in his voice but all in all, he was in control.

"Deal!" Shauna said happily. "Turtly! You heard Trev! Keep on Houndour! Water Pulse!"

Serena turned her focus back on Fletcher, carefully watching and waiting. Then, she found an opening. She allowed herself a quick vicious grin as she yelled, "Fletcher! Now, Flame Charge!" Fletcher banked and became coated with fire until he resembled a falling comet. Moving through an opening of Sneasel's attacks, Fletcher swooped low to the ground before flying towards the Ice Pokemon at a dizzying speed.

"Sneasel! Dodge it!" the Flare ordered. His Pokemon jumped to the side, but was still clipped by a wing, sending it tumbling to the ground. The flames fell away from Fletcher, and he climbed back up, moving faster than before.

"Perfect," Serena muttered under her breath. "Fletcher! Again! Flame Charge!" Once more, Fletcher turned in midair and began a dive towards Sneasel as his whole body became covered in scarlet flames. Once more, Sneasel dodged, getting only clipped. And, once more, Fletcher grew faster. "One more time! Fletcher, Flame Charge!"

Fletcher rose up and turned around, peaking right above the Sneasel. He plummeted to the ground, flames trailing behind him as he moved down in an arc. Right as he would have crashed into the ground, the Fire-type turned, moving fast enough where he looked like nothing but a stream of fire. Within seconds, Fletcher slammed into Sneasel directly, before curving off and allowing the Ice-type to continue its trajectory into the cave wall. The Sneasel slumped to the ground, knocked out.

"You can run now," Serena said as Fletcher landed on her outstretched arm. The man looked behind him where the Houndour and Krokorok were also being beaten down.

"Turtly, Water Pulse!" Shauna yelled, a giant grin on her face. Turtly leapt up and blasted the sphere of water directly into the Houndour's face, the ensuing wave of water knocking the Fire-type into the wall and unconscious. Squirtle cried happily and danced on two feet before his whole body began to glow white. Shauna clapped gleefully as the white light faded, revealing a newly evolved Wartortle. She scooped Turtly into her arms and laughed.

"Ivysaur, Giga Drain!" Trevor shouted. Three green beams burst from Ivysaur's flower and struck the Krokorok mid-leap. Three other streams trailed back to Ivysaur, healing him as the Krokorok fell down to the ground, knocked out. Trevor looked to his side as Serena walked up, and the three friends turned to stare down the Team Flare members.

The three Flares looked amongst themselves and Keller sighed. "We leave," she said. She took a small object from her pocket and smashed it into the ground. Thick smoke filled the chamber, and the three kids and the scientist began to cough.

"Fletcher!" Serena gasped. "Clear the air!" Fletcher chirped and flew into the air, beating his wings strongly and blowing the smoke away. The three Flares were gone though. "Dammit," Serena muttered. She turned to examine the others. "Everyone all right?"

"We're fine," Shauna said. "How about you, sir?"

The scientist coughed and rubbed his still frozen legs. He smiled. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, thank you. Thank you all. If it hadn't been for you….Well, I shudder to think what would've happened to me."

Serena frowned at his legs. "Fletcher, melt the ice." Fletcher wrapped his wings around the legs and slowly warmed his body up, flames licking his feathers, until the ice melted. The scientist stepped forward and nearly fell until Serena caught him. "Easy. Your legs are probably numb. It's not shocking, considering what happened."

"Once more, I have to thank you," he laughed. "I'm Julian Aspen by the way. I work at the lab in Ambrette."

"The Fossil Lab?" Trevor asked, his interest piqued. He stepped closer to the scientist, his eyes wide. "The one where you resurrect Pokemon?"

"Wait, you can do that?" Serena asked. She blinked. "That seems….magical, to be completely honest."

"It's a bit more complicated than what you're thinking," Julian said sheepishly. "But, essentially, yes. Those goons accosted me in these caves, trying to get me to come work for them to help build a machine for them that would do the same thing as our Reviver. And when they saw this, they freaked out and were close to killing me to get their hands on it." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small, spherical gem. Inside was a wave of blue, white, and grey.

"What is it?" Serena asked.

"Absolite," Julian said, a note of awe in his voice. "I'm not sure what it does precisely, to be honest with you three. But I've read of it and it's clearly important. Sadly, keeping it with me at the lab would probably be unwise."

"Absolite," Serena said quietly. "What does it have to do with Absols?"

"Hmm? Well, from what I've read, it's a stone that allows for Absols to Mega Evolve but I'm not sure how." He looked at her closely. "Why? Do you happen to have an Absol?"

Serena nodded. "Her name is Soledad, yeah."

His eyes widened and he thrust the Absolite into her hands. "Then you must have it! You can put it to use, study its effects!"

"But I don't know how to work it!" Serena protested.

Julian waved a hand to dismiss the comment. "Go to Shalour City. There's a man there named Gurkinn. He can teach you more about Mega Evolution." Julian paused. "But….this still isn't a good enough gift….hmm….Ah! I've got it! If you would help me back to my lab I would be happy to provide you with one of our resurrected Fossil Pokemon!"

"That's way too much!" Trevor stammered. "Really, Mr. Aspen, it was no trouble to help you!"

"I insist!" Julian said. "You helped save my life! This is the least I could do!"

"A Pokemon could be really useful," Serena said to herself. "Plus, doesn't Grant use these kinds of Pokemon, too?" _It could let me understand more about how he might battle….give me an advantage._

"You can have one if you want," Shauna said. "I'm good with the ones I have." She turned to Trevor. "Trev? You want one?"

Trevor bit his lips and after a moment of thinking shook his head. "As amazing as the chance would be, I'm going to have to say no. But, if you have them around I would love to scan them into my Pokedex?"

"Let's get him back first?" Serena suggested. "Come on, Trevor. Get his other shoulder. Let's go." The four began to walk back, their Pokemon leading to watch for threats. As they walked, Serena thoughts turned to Calem. _I hope he's okay,_ she thought. _Please be okay._

A Little Earlier,

"Grenou!" Calem cried. His Froakie hit the wall hard, his body covered in bruises and scratches. The Croagunk had proven to be a powerful adversary, and its latest Poison Jab had hit Grenou hard. And yet, the little Frog Pokemon kept getting up, no matter how hard he was knocked back. "You okay, pal?"

"Fro." The Water-type glanced back and nodded.

"If you're not I can switch you ou-"

"Froakie." Calem blinked. Grenou was staring dead ahead, like his wounds didn't matter. He wanted to be in the fight.

"All right," Calem said. "Let's do this then! Grenou! Aerial Ace!"

"Croagunk!" the Flare ordered. "Poison Jab!" The two Pokemon rushed at each other, Grenou's blades of white light contrasting the sickly purple of the Croagunk's Poison Jab. Grenou lashed out and the attack connected, only for Croagunk's Poison Jab to immediately take him in the chest. Grenou was sent back and hit the ground hard.

"Grenou!" Calem cried as his Pokemon slowly rose up. He fell to the ground again and looked towards the wounded Kangaskhan. "Come on, pal, you've done enough let someone else try!"

"Froakie!" Grenou growled. He picked himself up and started to rise. As he did, his whole body began to glow white. The glow strengthened and increased until Grenou could no longer be seen. The light began to fade, revealing a taller form where a Froakie had once stood. "Frogadier!" Grenou roared, the light exploding away from him. Calem stood in awe at the taller, more nimble Frogadier. He smiled.

"Feeling better, Grenou?" he asked. The Frogadier looked at him and simply nodded before turning back to face the Croagunk. Calem nodded himself. "All right, let's rock. Grenou! Aerial Ace!" Grenou opened his arms up to the side, allowing the white blades of light to form once more, before rushing towards the Croagunk, moving faster than before.

"Croagunk! Poison Jab him until he can't stand anymore!" the Flare ordered. The Poison-type rushed forth as well, its hands a sickly purple color. The Croagunk lashed out and Grenou swept a blade out, catching the attack on his own. Calem watched in shock as the two Pokemon stood in the middle of the field, struggling against one other.

"Cro!" Croagunk growled as his other fist thrust towards Grenou. The Frogadier watched it with seeming disinterest before leaning forward and pushing his first blade to the side, breaking off the impasse and knocking Croagunk off-balance. Before Croagunk could react, the second blade of Aerial Ace swept down and blasted him off. The Croagunk bounced along the ground before shakily getting to his feet.

"Grenou! Finish him off! Water Pulse!" Calem ordered. Grenou nodded and leapt into the air, sending his double Water Pulses flying towards Croagunk.

"Focus Blast!" the Flare ordered. Croagunk croaked in agreement and blasted a ball of light blue energy out from his hands. The powerful attack blasted right through both Water Pulses and hit Grenou with an explosion. But Grenou didn't fall down. The Flare's eyes widened as he glanced up and saw Grenou streaking down, a Water Pulse fully formed. "Substitute?! Croagunk, above you!" But it was too late. The sphere of water hit Croagunk directly and knocked him away from Grenou's landing point. Grenou landed with ease and before the Flare could react, streaked off again.

"Grenou, wrap it up! Aerial Ace!" Calem shouted, a grin on his face. Once more, white blades formed over Grenou's hands. When he reached the stunned Croagunk he began to lash out, releasing a series of blows. Then, with one last swift slash, he knocked out the Croagunk.

Tierno saw this from the corner of his eye smiled. _One down, one left,_ he thought. "Keep it up, Scyther! Don't let up with Fury Cutter!" His Scyther growled and kept using the weak attack. The Purrloin dodged most of them but the few that did hit were enough. Hit by hit, Tierno's plan was coming together. Plus, every attack by the Purrloin missed as well. Scyther was new to his team, sure, but Tierno knew how to train his Pokemon to be fast and agile. And now he just waited, kept up the onslaught, and waited for Purrloin to slip up.

 _There!_ he thought, a smile on his lips. Purrloin had slipped on the rocks and for a second, it was off balance. A second was all that Tierno needed though. "Scyther, Fury Cutter!" Scyther cried out as his blade arm, glowing a faint green, smashed into the Purrloin. The constant use of Fury Cutter with all the nicks simply powered up the move and at this moment, it was devastatingly strong. The blow sent Purrloin flying into the wall, knocked out.

The Flares recalled their Pokemon and looked at the two teens. "Time to give yourselves up," Calem said. "We have questions. You've got answers."

"Talk," Tierno said. "Who are you? Who's your boss?"

"And what do you need from the Kangaskhan and why?" Calem added. "You're not leaving until we get answers."

The man grinned, a somewhat psychotic look on him. "Oh, we're not? That's hilarious! Isn't it hilarious, Mariam?"

"Quite," the woman said. Her lips twitched into a smile. "You know, I had hoped that you two could've seen the purpose we serve. We seek only to make this a more beautiful world….and yet you stand in our way….such a travesty." She shook her head sadly. "Now, we know that you are enemies of our cause. We shall not be so….lenient next time. Logan, if you would." The man nodded and pulled something out of his pocket.

"Don't move!" Calem ordered. "Grenou, stop them!" Grenou dashed off as the man threw something against the ground. A bright flash filled the room, forcing Calem and Trevor to look away. Calem's vision went completely white, and he could feel the light even through his closed eyelids. When he finally managed to reopen them and look around, the Flares were gone. "Dammit," Calem growled. He looked over at the Kangaskhan and her baby and smiled. "Well, at least you two are safe." He walked over slowly and stretched out a hand.

The Kangaskhan looked at him, her eyes narrowed and her muscles tense. "Easy, easy," Calem said soothingly. "I'm not here to hurt you, all right? I just wanna help, that's all. I wanna make sure you get all fixed up and that no other bad people hurt you." The Kangaskhan began to growl and slowly rose up to her full her height, her one arm rearing back as if for a punch.

"Frog," Grenou said. Calem looked to his side to see Grenou standing besides him, looking dead at the Kangaskhan. The Kangaskhan turned to look at Grenou and growled back. "Frog. Dier. Frogadier, frog."

Calem blinked. Grenou was….talking. That was the most the Water-type had ever said at a time. The Kangaskhan titled her head and nodded. "Kanga," she said, settling back down. Her baby popped its head out of her pouch and looked up to her mother who nodded. More of the baby appeared, and Calem could see in its hand a strange gem. A simple, spherical gold gem with a wave of grey, darker grey, and brown in the center.

"Was this what they wanted from you?" Calem asked. The Kangaskhan growled and nodded her head. Then, she pointed at Grenou, then at herself, then at Calem. Calem blinked, confused, before Grenou tapped Calem's bag. "You want me to catch you?" Another growl. "I….I would be honored." Calem took out a Pokeball and threw it. It bounced off the Kangaskhan and she disappeared into red light. The ball bounced onto the ground, wobbling for a bit before it chimed. Calem picked up the Pokeball and smiled. "Welcome to the team, Kango and Roux." He turned to Grenou. "Did you convince her of that?"

Grenou said nothing and simply walked off. "Back to normal then," Calem sighed. He followed his Pokemon and rejoined Tierno who was waiting by the entrance to the chamber.

"We should get going," the other boy said. "The others are probably freaking out about us right about now."

"Agreed," Calem said. "Come on, let's get moving." The two set off at a brisk jog down the tunnel, both lost in their own thoughts. _What was that gem that Roux was holding?_ Calem thought. _And why did the Flares want it so badly?_

Voices ahead broke them out of their reveries and Tierno looked at Calem, a huge grin on his face. "That sounds like Shauna! Come on!"

The two picked up their pace and soon emerged into the larger tunnel where they had left the others. To their surprise and joy, they saw Serena, Shauna, and Trevor walking down the tunnel with a man they were supporting. "Serena! Trevor, Shauna!" Calem shouted, running after them. They looked back and Shauna grinned.

"Calem!" she shrieked. She ran past Trevor, Serena, and the man and gave Calem a leaping hug. Then she noticed Tierno and gave him a similarly large hug. "We were so worried! Oh my Arceus, there were these weirdos in orange suits, and Julian here was being attacked and we thought you two were in danger but we had to help Julian first and oh my Arceus we were scared!"

"Julian?" Calem asked.

"Weirdos?" Tierno asked.

"Save it for now," Serena called back. She gave them a grin. "Let's get to Ambrette Town and then we can discuss everything that happened."

In the Fossil Lab,

Calem leaned his head against the wall, his eyes half-closed. It had taken what felt like hours to get back to Ambrette Town but they were finally back. Julian had insisted on going straight to the Lab to revive Serena her new Pokemon despite the ice burns on his legs. It had been an hour and a half since he and his colleagues had vanished into the lab proper to revive the Pokemon Serena had chosen. Shauna had passed out on a bench while waiting, her head lolling onto Trevor's shoulder. The poor kid had been terrified to move for the first half hour but then fell asleep himself, his blush somehow still present. Tierno simply sat on the floor, flipping through a book he had brought with and listening to music. Serena paced the room, muttering to herself and occasionally stopping to trace her finger through the air like she was planning.

"You can relax, Serena," Calem said when she got close. "The Gym is still a day away or so."

"It's not about that," Serena said. She shot Calem a glare and he smiled sweetly back. She sighed and sunk down to the floor next to him. "Okay, okay, yes, it's partly about that. But I was thinking about the Flares."

The group had compared notes when they had first got the chance and everyone had been shocked and more than a little disturbed to think that such a group like Team Flare existed and that they were after a Reviver and these Mega Stones that Calem and Serena now had. "What about them?" Calem asked.

"What's so interesting about these Mega Stones?" Serena asked, holding up her Absolite. "Why do they want them?"

Calem grimaced. "I don't know. Don't have a single clue. Maybe Gurkinn can tell us something?"

"I gave Soledad this, too," Serena said. "Nothing happened….but I do feel something within it. It might sound crazy, but it's warm."

"Doesn't sound too absurd," Calem said. "I mean, no less than you being worried about me." He grinned and Serena rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder.

"You and Tierno ran off out of nowhere! Of course I was worried!"

"It's okay, Serena, you can admit that I scared you," Calem said. "That life without me just isn't worth living."

"You're pushing it," she said dryly. "Scared, yes. But I can live without you."

Calem put his hands over his heart, feigning pain. "Oh! Oh, that hurts so much, Serena! Why must you lie so?"

Serena punched him again, then turned to face the wall opposite of them. "Calem….don't do that again, though," she said after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Calem cocked his head at her.

"Do what?"

"Run off," she said. Her voice had gotten quiet. "You could've gotten hurt….I-we-could've lost you….and Tierno." _She added the last part hurriedly_ , Calem noted.

"I promise. From now on, I'm sticking with the group, deal?" Calem made an X over his heart and held up his hand. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

Serena laughed. "Well, you certainly wouldn't last long without me." Calem gasped in mock pain, causing her to laugh again. He was about to respond when the door to the inner lab opened up and Julian, with the aid of a cane and an assistant, walked out, holding a Pokeball.

"Serena?" he said. He smiled and tossed the Pokeball up into the air, releasing an Amaura. "Say hello to the newest member of your team, Amaura."

"Am?" the small Tundra Pokemon said. It looked at Serena, then back at Julian who nodded. It waddled over on unsteady legs to Serena and looked up at her. "Aura?"

Serena squealed, and Calem raised his eyebrows. He….he had never heard her do that before. She hugged the Amaura close and nuzzled its neck. "Boy or girl?" she asked.

"Boy," Julian said. He tossed the now empty Pokeball to Serena.

Shauna woke up groggily, causing Trevor to wake up as well. His blush somehow deepened once he realized the position he had been in and Calem made a mental note to tease him about it later. Tierno took out his headphones and looked at the new Pokemon before shrugging and turning back to his book. Shauna squealed when she saw Amaura though, and Calem couldn't help but notice that she sounded like Serena….or Serena had sounded like Shauna.

"Oh my Arceus!" Shauna squealed. "What a cutie! What's his name?"

"Amadeus," Serena said. She smiled at Amadeus and held him up. "Welcome to the team, Amadeus."

 **A/N: And done. Boom, easy, nice and quick. Now, since I did it at the top I don't think I'll redo it here. Just for new/evolved Pokemon. So, here we go. Serena: Amadeus (Amaura), Horace (Horsea); Calem: Grenou (Frogadier), Kango and Roux (Kangaskhan and her baby); Shauna: Tileo (Helioptile); Trevor: Sandile. And that's it. Um, review if you liked it or if you have some ways I can improve (always looking to do that!). Hope you liked it!**


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